The Faithful Sentinel
by green-piggy
Summary: Being a Fon Master Guard to the Fon Master meant that Sacha Eclinn had to be ready for anything. But being thrown into a journey full of hidden truths, forgotten pasts and betrayal, all to save Auldrant from the path the Score had shown? Not a chance. .:Hiatus:.
1. Prologue: Piggy Promise

**Disclaimer**: _Tales of the Abyss _belongs to Namco. I do not own it in any way, apart from the game that my cousin got for me on my 3DS.

**A/N: **Hello there, and thank you for clicking on this link! I decided to pose myself a challenge; was it possible to write a female OC into the story of _Tales of the Abyss_ without making her a shameless Mary Sue who's the seventh God-General and falls for Sync? (There actually is already a seventh God-General; if you look in the library in Daath, you'll come across a charming lady called Cantabile. Please, don't hurt her feelings, even if she is only in a book and has purple hair.)

So I decided to give this a shot. Any _constructive _advice would be great, since I'm young and therefore not used to the way of writing just yet. ;P If there's any incorrect information, do not hesitate to tell me, please!

But that's enough from me. Hope you all enjoy. :)

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><p>ஜ۩۞۩ஜ -The Faithful Sentinel- ஜ۩۞۩ஜ<p>

_Prologue: Piggy Promise_

_Lunaday, 27 Undine Decan. AD2015_

"_Today, I met my best friend."_

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><p>"You need to be more agile than that."<p>

Sacha grunted loudly, sweat dripping down her red face as she breathed in heavily with shaky breathes, hands trembling from exhaustion. Her whole body ached at her, screaming at her to stop training and to rest for the day, but she _couldn't_! If she did, then she would never become a Fon Master Attendant! It was what her family wanted her to be; no, it was what the _Score _needed her to be. And if she didn't fulfil the Score, then...

A dark shadow fell over her hunched body, and she didn't need to look up to know that Largo would be frowning down at her. Yet, he never got angry at her for her many mistakes. He was always patient, knowing when the teenager needed to stop and rest for a few minutes. He may have looked frightening to anyone who wasn't a God-General or Oracle Knight, but Sacha looked up to him as a father that she never had.

"Do you want to take a short rest before we resume?"

"...No..." she finally muttered after what seemed to be forever, her long brown hair falling over her ocean-blue eyes. "I...I'm fine. I can keep going." her grip on her two weapons; a simple, silver pair of butterfly knives, tightened, leaving her knuckles bone-white. However, it seemed that Largo had other ideas.

"No. You shall rest. The last thing I; no, _we _need is you collapsing." Patting her on the shoulder to get her attention, Sacha weakly glanced up to see the familiar sight of an Orange Gel in Largo's hands. Taking it (her hand felt so small in his massive gloved one), she shakily ate it in one mouthful. Already, she could feel her energy return to her, urging her to continue fighting onwards and training for as long as she could do so! After it, it was-

She cut off her thoughts, sighing. She knew that that was a lie to herself. That had been the sixth Orange Gel he had used on her, and that wasn't including the sheer amount of Lemon Gels she had eaten (Sacha had lost count after nine. The maximum that anyone could carry at one time was sixteen). Not for the first time, she was grateful that God-General didn't make her buy them all. She would be out of Gald in no time flat.

Largo pulled the brunette up by her elbow forcefully, yet gently at the same time. "We need to practise your fonic artes," his deep voice boomed in the quiet area outside of Daath. "I should get Legretta or Cantabile to assist you in that matter, perhaps."

"No sir." Sacha stood back up to her full height and shook her head. "I will be fine. There is no need to trouble either of them with that matter. Besides, isn't Legretta busy assisting Van's sister?"

"There's no need to use such a formal manner with me, Sacha. But that is correct; the Commandant's sister, Tear Grants, is receiving similar lessons on fonic artes from Major Legretta." Largo smiled softly, taking a few steps back. The afternoon breeze ruffled his grey hair gently, and the setting sun had painted the high hill a rosy red color similar to blood.

"Tear..." Sacha whispered. "That's a nice name."

The man nodded and gripped his scythe in his hand. "Now, do you think you're already to resume?"

"Yeah." Sacha gripped her weapons, feeling the familiarity of the black leather in her hands. Her black shorts had already been torn in several places from Largo's sharp scythe, and her red sleeveless top wasn't faring much better. Thankfully, there were only several minor bruises on her tanned skin. Nothing that wouldn't heal up in a few days, anyway. "I'm ready when you are, Master."

"Just remember to be more agile!" Largo taunted, already going for a sweep with his weapon. Sacha remembered his advice earlier on and leapt over it, her foot narrowly tapping the steel. She raised her two weapons to attack, their sharp ends pointing down and glistening in the setting sun.

"Sharp Edge!"

"Good attack!" the man called as he blocked the attack, his strength easily overpowering that of his student's. She fell back onto the grass, and barely had enough time to cross her weapons over before Largo charged at her again. "However, you need to react faster; don't give the enemy time to counter!"

"Understood, Master!" she kicked out her legs, hoping to try to catch Largo by surprise. However, he had leapt back before the attack connected, and Sacha instead pushed herself up onto her two shaky feet again. Her vision was starting to go blurry again, _damn!_ But she had to-

"_Sacha!_" her blue eyes widened in horror when Largo called her name. Glancing down, she tried not to shake as she felt and saw Largo's smooth blade pressing against her throat. "Are you alright?"

Ho-how had he done that? She could have _sworn _that he was beside the tree just a second ago. But-

"M-Mas..." she tried to choke out the words, but for some reason, her throat had suddenly run dry. She didn't know why, or how it had happened, but she _hated _it! She wasn't weak, damn it! "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"Ah, so _this _is where the Black Lion was hiding out?"

Sacha glanced over from the ground to see a blur of black and dark green walk up the hill. His spiky green hair was soon followed by his wide eyes, a golden mask shaped like a bird held in his hand. Largo swiftly removed his weapon from Sacha's throat, and offered out his hand to help pull her up. She took it, brushing some dirt off her legs as she glanced up to the newcomer.

"Sync the Tempest. It's been too long," Largo offered, his face as stoic as ever.

Sync, however, didn't appear to be in the mood to act polite. He looked down to the younger brunette, smirking. "So she didn't even bother to put up a fight this time? How pathetic."

"..." Sacha bit her cheek in shame, looking down. She could already feel the blush rising up, the redness suddenly decorating her cheeks. He _was _right. She was nothing but a-

"She's coming along far faster than what Van anticipated." Largo sighed. "However, Sacha still has her mind set on becoming an attendant to the Fon Master."

"Because of the _Score?_" the teenager sneered. The man nodded.

"Yes." Largo turned to face the female, and felt a short pang of guilt for her sad face. However, he quickly dismissed it; he couldn't show mercy to anyone. "Sacha, we'll meet here next week at the same time. For then, I expect you to have mastered control of your Butterfly Kiss and Storm Break artes. Understood?"

"Y-yes Master Largo."

A small smile appeared on his lips, a rare sight. Even Sync seemed surprised by it, raising an eyebrow. "You are dismissed, Sacha Eclinn."

The brunette gave Largo a stiff bow before turning away. She started to make her way down the tall hill back to Daath, long brown hair flying in the breeze.

"The Commandant wanted to see you," Sync was the first to break the silence between the two God-Generals. He gave Largo a sideways look, as if he was dirt found on the bottom of his shoe. "And honestly, _what _do you see in that girl? She's a wimp, a chicken, can barely stand on her own stupid feet-"

"She's young. Give her time, Sync."

"No. She just reminds you of the daughter you gave up because of the _Score_, doesn't she?"

"..."

"Poor little Meryl. Must be _heartbroken _that she can't ever see you again. Oh wait, she doesn't even _remember _you. How _sad._" Sync's cruel tone of mocking voice echoed in the trees. Largo tried to not let it get to him, this was Sync when he was on a _good _day.

"Why does the Commandant wish to see me?" Largo asked, turning to the younger boy. He snorted and crossed his arms.

"He needs to discuss with you on how the First Division's getting along. Arietta's talking to him now about the Third Division."

"Ah... I see. And about Asch?"

"Still sulking, that stupid _brat."_

Same as always. That answer made Largo briefly wonder on why he had asked the question. "Let's return back to the Oracle Headquarters. Legretta should be returning shortly from Yulia City as well."

"I found this Daathic arte the other day; Ion called it a curse slot or something like that. I'm gonna go and find out more about it. All I know is that it stirs up rational memories and paralyzes thoughts... according to Ion." Sync had already turned around, back facing Largo as he began to walk down the hill back to Daath. The man easily caught with the much-smaller boy's steps, and paced himself so that they were walking at the same pace.

"Going to use it on some poor soul soon?"

Sync smirked. "How did you guess? If I use it on Legretta and lock her in a room with Van-"

"No. I forbid you from doing that."

"Have you forgotten who's higher in position, _Largo?_" Sync teased in a sing-song voice.

Largo merely grunted and walked down the hill, although he would actually want to see Legretta with a curse slot in the same room as Van, _alone._

It would be... an unique experience, to say the least.

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><p>The city of Daath was beautiful at night, even if it was in a somewhat haunting way. The torches hung overhead gave off a gloomy aura in the pitch-black darkness. People were still scattered around the small city, discussing quietly to themselves as a crowd of drunkards merrily made their way through the city. There were no stars in the sky, which did little to help improve the dark mood in the city.<p>

Sacha made her way through the large crowds, the thoughts of her birth Score still in her head, despite the fact that it was a few weeks past already. Her knives chimed gently in her dark red belt, although she hoped that anyone would just mistake it for her many golden bracelets on her wrists.

She pulled her black hood up over her head and frowned, stuffing her hands into her pockets. She hoped that Mother wouldn't be _too _angry at her taking so long to return from her training. It had dragged on for far longer than she had assumed. She was used to having long and intense training sessions; she had _no _doubt that she had much better stamina that before, no thanks to Largo ruthlessly pushing her through her limits almost every training day without failure.

"Tokunaga... are Mama and Papa gonna be okay?"

Sacha stopped just outside the cathedral. Glancing to her right to where she had heard the voice, she saw a young girl sniffle loudly. There was a tall orange doll on her lap, small pale arms wrapped around it firmly, so tightly that it looked like the girl was afraid of losing it. Her short black hair fell limply over her head, and the brunette felt a pang of sincerity come across her for the young girl. She didn't look any older than ten, yet... her soft toy and the splash of torn pink that was her clothes was the only sign of color in the girl.

"Hey, are you alright?" Sacha bent down gently to the girl, and gazed at her in thought. The girl took a few seconds to look up, and her brown eyes widen in surprise. There was some kind of hidden sorrow in them, and she did notice the wet marks trailing down her cheeks.

"Huh? Um, I'm fine..." her voice was quiet, and she glanced back down to her white shoes, kicking them against the stone ground.

"Now, it's pretty obvious that you're not. At least tell me your name. I'm Sacha." the teenager placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, and she looked up abruptly. Shock was written over her face, and she clutched the toy (was it the Tokunaga that she was talking to earlier?) tighter to her tiny chest.

"A-Anise..."

"That's a sweet name. Do..." Sacha wasn't sure about how to word her next question. She really did want to get to know this girl better; she was a splash of color along the dull black and greys of Daath, even if she did look on the verge of tears. "Ah, do you have any future job in mind? I know quite a few people who want to be servants."

Anise shook her head fiercely, a wide grin coming onto her face. She looked up to Sacha with a smile that could light up any dark alley. "Nuh-huh! I'm gonna be a Fon Master Attendant when I'm thirteen, because that's the legal age, right?"

For one of the few times in her life, Sacha was left speechless. It felt as if someone had just punched her in the stomach; hard. That... that was her dream. To be a Fon Master Attendant. And... here was this _ten_-year-old who was dying for the position; she could tell from the way she had immediately cheered up, her brown eyes lightening up with joy and that wide grin. But...

"-or Guardian, since they're both the sa – Hey! Did I say something wrong?"

Sacha blinked and snapped out of her thoughts. She smiled back at the black-haired girl, ruffling her hair gently. "No. You've just got a little contest in that area, that's all."

"Huh?" Anise blinked. "What? But I thought that _I _was the only person going for it! Not that anyone's gonna be as awesome as me, of course!"

"Well, _I _want to be a Fon Master Attendant too! So _you've _got someone else to fight it out with, huh?"

Anise leapt up, grinning widely at Sacha. She shifted the orange doll in her arms softly. "Well, you're an oldie! Old people are worse than cute, adorable people like me!"

"You really think so?" Sacha grinned. The girl nodded.

"Yeah! I'm only ten after all! And you're, um... eighty?"

"Haha, very funny." the brunette ruffled Anise's soft hair again. "I'm seventeen, and still going strong! One day you'll be a bag of bones, and I'll be running rings around you."

"_Booo!_" the girl stuck out her tongue. "Then I'll hit you with Tokunaga, and then you'll be a bag of bones too!"

"May I ask who Tokunaga is?"

Anise looked hurt for a second. "Huh? Oh, _this _is Tokunaga!" she held out the doll in her arms proudly, grinning a toothy smile at the girl. The doll's empty eyes made Sacha shiver, but it was cute... in a really weird and odd way. "Isn't he adorable?"

"Um... yeah."

"He's not as cute as me, mind!" she pointed to herself. "_No one's _as cute as little me!"

The brunette reached out a hand to gently stroke Anise's doll. She almost fell on the ground in shock when it suddenly growled at her.

"What on _Lorelei!_"

"Oh, sorry!" Anise said, but she didn't really look too sorry. "I forgot to mention; Tokunaga's a living thing!"

"..." Sacha was too busy staring at the doll as if it would grow giant fangs and eat her in one mouthful.

"One day, I'm going to make him really big, and then he can bash up anyone that I don't like! But you won't get hurt, since I like you. You're funny."

"T-t-that's nice to know." for some reason, the image of a _giant _Tokunaga was enough to make her have a panic attack. She was glad that Anise didn't plan to attack her with it, but she felt bad for anyone who would get in her way.

"I _know! _Isn't it? I was thinking of selling him to get more Gald, but- _ohmyYuliahowmucharetheyworth!_" Anise suddenly lurched forward, staring at the gold bracelets on her wrists as if they were the Seventh Fonstone. Blinking slowly, Sacha nervously smiled at her.

"Um... that's not actual gold, by the way. They're just painted that color."

Anise's face falling told her all that she needed to know. "_Booo!_ Man, I really need that Gald too!"

"Why do you need Gald?"

"I've got my reasons!" Anise winked at her. Sacha couldn't help but laugh loudly at it, and the girl soon joined in with her laughter. "I'm gonna try and marry a real rich person when I'm older, so that I'll have plenty of Gald!" she declared once they had stopped laughing, looking thoughtful. "Maybe he should be noble, so that he's famous and all..." Anise put a hand on her chin and hummed.

"Aren't you a little young to be thinking of _marriage?_ What does the Score tell you to do?"

"It tells me to marry a rich man and have all of his Gald."

"...I'm sure it does."

Anise was about to offer another retort, but then gasped as the church bells chimed loudly overhead. The two glanced up as the giant clock hit midnight above. A sinking feeling of dread suddenly washed over. Anise seemed to notice this, and she looked up to Sacha in surprise. "Hmm? Is something wrong?"

"I've gotta get back home. I'm sorry for wasting your time." Sacha stood up and suddenly began to walk away. Much to her surprise, something firm latched onto her hand. She turned around, to see Anise grabbing her hand tightly with wide eyes.

"Yo-you'll come back, won't you? _Please_? I..." the girl looked down at her scruffy shoes, and sighed. "I haven't got any friends to play with. Everyone makes fun of me."

The teenager turned around slowly and bent down so that she was eye level with the younger girl. It amazed her, really, on how much alike the two of them were. She didn't have too many friends either, and she wouldn't count the ones that she _did _have as true friends. "I promise. I haven't got many friends either."

"Piggy promise?" she held out her little thing. Sacha looked at it blankly.

"_Piggy?_"

"_Ohh!_ Piggy, pinkie; whatever they call it!"

The brunette laughed, and then twirled her little finger around the much-smaller one.

"I promise."


	2. Chapter I: A Place to Relax

**Disclaimer: **See the first chapter.

**A/N: **Not as long as last time, but what the heck. Hope you enjoy!

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><p>ஜ۩۞۩ஜ -The Faithful Sentinel- ஜ۩۞۩ஜ<p>

_Chapter I: A Place to Relax_

_Gnomeday, 37 Rem Decan. AD2018_

"_Today: pick some flowers. Exciting."_

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><p>Sacha kicked her brown, dirty boots up onto the surface of the clean table with a loud thump, ignoring the fact that there would undoubtedly be someone in soon enough to scold her for her lack of manners. Sighing, she ran a hand through her messy brown hair, a piece of paper crumbled up in her other hand. It was actually a letter from her friend, one Anise Tatlin, a thirteen-year-old bubby black-haired girl who was rarely found without a massive grin threating to spilt her face and her faithful orange doll, Tokunaga, hanging from her back. Despite her innocent and carefree appearance, she was actually a trained soldier, and one of the many Fon Master Attendants to Ion, the Fon Master.<p>

After the green-haired youth had mysteriously vanished from Daath without a trace, his Guardians had been sent to all of the many cities, towns and villages of Auldrant, from Chesedonia to Keterburg. As far as Sacha knew, Anise had been sent to Engeve, while she had been sent to Saint Binah, also known as the Citadel. The name most likely came from the giant wall that surrounded the small city on all sides, with only one imposing entrance. Despite the formal appearance, it was a beautiful city full of blooming flowers and friendly villagers.

However, there _was _only so much that Sacha could take. And after the Oracle Knights (as well as a few God-Generals) had shown up, no doubt searching for Ion as well, the place had taken on a dark brooding feeling, devoid of its usual cheer.

After receiving a long letter from her chirpy friend, the brunette soldier had taken residence in the Malkuth Military Base, and was currently sitting in the waiting room, leaning into the comfortable seat as she closed her eyes and hummed to herself.

She had read through the letter so many times that it hurt, brilliant blue eyes scanning the page for some hidden meaning, but the only thing she saw was her friend's curly hand-writing, full of swirls and scribbled out lines (Anise never had been the best speller).

She was going insane. Then again, spending two months _trapped_, for lack of any better words, in a small city without being allowed to leave _would _make someone like her anxious. She wanted to have adventure! She hated sitting around, silently counting cheagles in her head as they jumped over fences. But Anise's letter had told her that the young teenager was headed to Kaitzur to wait for Ion and the others, and that they would likely stop off at Saint Binah to replenish supplies. If that was the case, Sacha was sure that she could convince the small group to allow her to stay with them for a while.

After all, it would only be her fulfilling her duty as a Fon Master Guardian; someone who was with the Fon Master at all times, and would sacrifice their life for him without hesitation, if the situation called for it.

But what good would come from dying..?

"Excuse me?"

"Hmm?" Sacha looked up in surprise. A small maid was standing at her table, hands clasped tightly behind her back like all of the servants around here seemed to do. "Is everything alright?" Sacha caught her briefly glancing at her mucky feet, and out of respect, she silently lowered them back to the ground and sat up.

"If you don't mind my asking, are you thirsty?" The red-haired girl continued. She held up a steaming cup of tea, a delicious smell wafting from it. "From what Master McGovern; the older one, told me, you haven't had a drink in quite a while. Would you care to have some?"

Sacha wanted to tell her that she didn't actually like tea; it anything, she hated it. However, upon seeing the girl's red face and tired eyes, she smiled and took the cup from her. "Thank you. I am rather thirsty, now that you mention it."

"I hope you like it," she admitted somewhat-sheepishly, pulling at her long sleeves. "It's my first attempt at making tea."

Oh _no_.

Sacha took a small slip, and almost spat it out in horror. _Way _too much sugar; there had to be at least ten spoonfuls of it in there. Forcing the horribly sweet taste down her throat, she smiled at the maid with what she hoped to be a genuine smile.

"It's lovely, but I would put less sugar into next time. Just a small suggestion."

"T-thank you! Please have a nice day here in Saint Binah." The red on the maid's face reached to her ears, and nodding hurryingly, she walked out of the room.

Groaning louder, she resigned herself to the fact that today was going to be another boring day full of nothing but pestering the locals, trying to find out some more information about Ion, and picking some peony flowers for her new vase.

The joys of being a Fon Master Guardian.

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><p>"<em>Dear Sacha,<em>

_ It's been FOREVER since you and I last talked to each other! What's it been now, two years? Man, it feels way longer than that! Like we've never met before, and yet we're already soul mates destined to be together forever and ever and ever!_

_...Ewww. That came out wrong._

_Moving on. In case you didn't already get the news (since after all, the Order of Lorelei can be pretty useless at the worst of times), Ion's been spotted in Engeve! In fact, he was there to help work out why the cheagles were stealing the food there. It turned out that a cheagle caused a fire up in the northern regions, where the ligers live (the same kind of monsters that Gloomietta has), and they all moved down to the forest. How sad!_

_He managed to get the peace letter from Emperor Peony IX, so we're gonna try and head to Baticul in order to present it to the king there. Don't worry, we've got our ways._

_They had to kill the liger queen (who had some eggs too!), and we all know that the queen's Gloomietta's so called 'mother'. I'm not looking forward to how she reacts. Most likely by screaming something about me taking Ion away._

_Seriously, why is that spoiled, selfish, annoying, weird and crazy brat so ANNOYING!_

_Ahem. So... I'm headed to Kaitzur, since that's where I told Ion and the others I'll meet them at. I'm gonna try and get some passports for us all. I'll get one for you, no worries! 3_

_Finally, Ion's travelling with some rather interesting people. One of them is the son of Duke Fabre! You know, only one of the most powerful families in all of Auldrant!_

_But the thing is, he's really annoying, self-centred, obnoxious, and such an idiot! But he must have a lot of Gald, so I'm gonna marry him as soon as I'm legal to (why is sixteen so far away!)! Don't you DARE try to steal him away, okay? He's called Luke._

_The next one's the Commandant's sister! You'll know her when you see her. She's got really big melons, and long brown hair the color of... uh, hair? She's called Tear. Such a weird name..._

_Finally, there's THE Colonel Jade Curtiss! You know, the colonel of the Third Division, Malkuth Imperial Forces? He's so amazing, and you know what the best thing is? He's representing the Emperor, so I'm gonna be stuck with him for ages! :-) If he wasn't so old, I would so marry him instead of stupid Luke..._

_So if they stop off at Saint Binah, just tag along. Tell them you're guarding Ion in my place, or something like that. Don't worry. I'll come up with some story to protect your butt, should anything happen to you._

_After all, you're NOWHERE near as amazing as cute, adorable me!_

_Much love,_

_ Anise~"_

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><p>Smiling to herself warmly, Sacha pocketed the letter that she had taken out to reread again, for lack of anything else to do. The letter was <em>definitely <em>written by Anise; no one could ever hope to match her hyper and friendly nature, mixed with her love for all things Gald and gullibility at times.

Her fingers lightly darted along the weapons that she had in her belt, briefly resting on the sleek silver of their blades. The sunlight was still shining brightly in the sky, and apart from the many Oracle Knights stationed around the city, nothing had changed, save for the gloomy atmosphere and feeling that had settled into the small city.

After all, if the Oracle Knights had come demanding for something (and the God-Generals, too), then they weren't going to leave until they got it.

Young children still played tag with each other, and made daisy and peony chains for their friends. The smell of the bakery nearby drafted all over the centre, which made her stomach rumble, hungry for food.

Walking up to the inn, the only thing Sacha wanted was a good wash and some food. She had managed to rent out a small house on the outskirts of the city, but it was too far away for her to walk to. Besides, she was feeling a bit lazy today. She blamed it on the hot spring day.

The last thing that she was expecting (or wanting) was someone's arm preventing her from entering said inn.

"Identity, please," a tall man barked, wearing the typical black uniform of the Oracle Knights. "Unless you are a registered member of the Oracle Knights, I'm afraid this area is sealed off."

Abruptly stopping to look at the taller man, she placed her hands onto her hips with a sigh. An _inn _being sealed off? Really? What _were _the God-Generals thinking?

"Fon Master Attendant Sacha Eclinn, Daathic Guardian to Fon Master Ion. I was dispatched here to Saint Binah to search for him. May I pass?"

"I need status or documents confirming your identity, miss. Words aren't enough."

"Ugh," Sacha said and sighed loudly. Undoubtedly, she was going to be here for a while. Some Oracle Knights could be right _jerks _sometimes. "My Oracle Knight uniform is inside. May I _please_ retrieve it, to prove my identity?" She was speaking the truth. Due to the unusually hot weather, she had swapped out her uniform for black shorts, matched with light-blue sandals and a baggy white t-shirt. She had kept her brown belt and poaches for her weapons, as well as her many golden bracelets and black sleeves.

"Madam-"

"_Please?_ I'll only be a few minutes to change, and you can stand outside my door the whole time."

"What if you try to escape through the window?"

_Gah! _It seemed that she had got stuck with one of the most annoying Oracle Knights in all of existence! "I wouldn't want to leave if I was trying to enter in the first place."

He didn't look convinced, but lowered his arm. "Very well then. Five minutes. Any later, and I will come inside to check on you, regardless of what state you may be in."

That was basically a nice way of saying, "I don't care if you're nude; I'm coming in anyway."

"Thank you," she barely managed to mutter through her gritted teeth, walking into the inn. The inn keeper looked after her as she walked into the room where her items were being kept.

It was a small place; with only a bed and a bedside table, with a small fonstone serving as a lamp beside it. Sacha pulled out a small wooden box from underneath the bed.

"No one's been in my stuff. Good," she said to herself. Shaking her head (what kind of person _talked _to themselves?), she quickly took out her uniform and pulled it on.

After a few minutes, she pushed open the door and came face-to-face with the Oracle Knight from earlier. He looked her up and down, his eyes lingering briefly on her chest. If she could have done so, she would have slapped him across the face. Instead, she crossed her arms over her chest and sighed.

"_Now _do you believe who I am?"

"Sacha Eclinn, Ionian Sergeant and Fon Master Guardian of twenty years. Correct?"

"Yes."

"I apologize for my rudeness earlier," the man said, stiffly bowing to her. The brunette smiled.

"No, it's fine. Just don't do it again, alright?"

"Understood."

Sacha turned away from the small inn and began to walk off. Now that the small commination had been dealt with, she wasn't hungry anymore. She could still do with that refreshing shower, but that could be done at her own house. For now, she would simply head up to the top of the Soil Tree. It offered a view of the whole city, after all, and she could easily see a blob of green hair from there.

Well, she _hoped _she would.

"Coming through!"

She stopped walking when she came to a small line of people on the edge of the streets. There was a lot of loud chatter along them, everyone attempting to get to the front. Trying to peer over them all, she managed to catch sight of a brown carriage trudging along the stony path, two horses pulling the large vehicle in from the front, as a broad man in a yellowish jacket held onto its reins. A second one soon followed, and she politely but firmly shoved her way to the front to catch eye of it.

After all, more often than not, they came from Engeve. And given the Oracle Knights around the city searching for Ion, sneaking on-board a carriage seemed to be the most logical choice. If he was to be anywhere in Saint Binah, then his small group of people would most likely choose to board one. She wasn't sure _how _they would be able to do so without knocking out the poor driver, but some sacrifices had to be made in life, she supposed.

Sacha casually slipped into the small crowd that had begun to follow the two carriages, most likely seeking out some supplies from the many crates shoved awkwardly together in the back. They finally came to a stop beside the Soil Tree, and the residents immediately started to chatter excitedly amongst themselves.

"I _do _hope they have some Lemon Gels for my son," one woman exclaimed. "He's been dreadfully sick these past few weeks! Coughing all of the time, and sneezing and he looks so _pale_! He needs to go and serve in the Malkuth Imperial Forces! Nothing about his Score said that _this _would happen..."

Sacha didn't have the heart to tell the lady that Lemon Gels only truly healed wounds.

"Don't remind me!" Another young woman said loudly. "The Score for my daughter predicted that she would become a nurse. What does she and go and do? Train to be a _fonist_! Honestly, it's madness!"

"My son thinks that just because he can use the Seventh Fonon, he suddenly has a right to go and become a healer for the Imperial Forces. His Score said that he would help out in the local shop, and that's what he'll be doing, Seventh Fonons be damned!"

Frowning at what everyone was saying, Sacha pushed her way to the front of the large crowd, where they were beginning to unload the many crates. As a man moved out of the way of several especially large crates, Sacha could have _sworn _that one of them moved.

Then again, she was most likely seeing things.

"Stop _touching _me!" a voice hissed from the one of the crates, before a loud thump sounded, followed by some kind of whimpering noise before it went silent.

Okay. She _definitely _hadn't heard that in her head.

Watching as a broad man picked up the crate that had spoken and began to walk towards the alleyway, she decided to follow, ignoring the curious stares from a few people and a small handful of Oracle Knights that had tagged along to see what the big fuss was about.

After all, if there was even the tiniest possibility that Ion was inside, then she was following it.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Messing around with canon is fun. I should do it more often (and no way is it because if I wanted to copy the script word-for-word, I would have to restart a new game when all four save files are already in use and I can't be bothered to delete one of them).

I've looked over this and edited it plenty of times, but knowing my luck there's still spelling errors in it. Please tell me if you saw any!

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	3. Chapter II: Beginnings in a Flower Field

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1.

**A/N: **Thank you very much to _DAve and Bob _for reviewing, as well as the few others who added this to their alerts and favorites. It's very greatly appreciated!

The reason this chapter took so long is that I managed to write out a fair few other scenes in the meantime, but I only came with the idea for this chapter recently. Not to mention that I rewrote it at least three times.

But it's here now! Hope you all enjoy! :)

* * *

><p>ஜ۩۞۩ஜ -The Faithful Sentinel- ஜ۩۞۩ஜ<p>

_Chapter II: Beginnings in a Flower Field_

* * *

><p><em>Gnomeday, 37 Rem Decan. AD2018<em>

"_Ion knows some serious jerks and idiots."_

* * *

><p>"Ion? Are you in here?"<p>

Lifting up the crate lid slowly, Sacha bit her lips to stop her angry scream. The crate was empty, just like all of the other crates that she had looked in in the small alleyway. She had checked every _one of the blasted things, and Ion wasn't in any of them!_

"Where _are _you, damn it?" she muttered darkly to herself, putting the lid back on. Sitting down on top of it with a small jump, she swung her legs back and forth in thought. Where, in the names of Yulia and Lorelei, could the Fon Master have gone to? She had followed all of the crates in, checked every single one, and, well, she needed a good rest. Besides, knowing her luck, Ion would be in the last place she looked.

Sacha almost hit herself for the sheer stupidness of what she had just thought. Of _course _Ion would be in the last place she looked. What kind of idiot would continue looking for something after they found it, after all?

She slid off the crate, landing softly on her flat shoes and looking around. The best course of action would be to return to the inn and change out of her Oracle Knight uniform; the residents were clearly at unease with them, and looking like one (even though she _was _one, but they didn't need to know that) wouldn't improve her chances of finding Ion at all. Besides, she didn't like wearing those blasted tight trousers that were clearly two sizes too small for her, and they were _brown_. Brown was a gross color.

Like, _really _gross.

She walked back into the centre of town, from the dark alleyway she had just been in. The only thing of interest was a young boy and girl arguing with each other about the giant Soil Tree that towered over the small city. There was also a man standing nearby, wildly waving his hand about as he tried to sell posters about the 'Dark Dream', a circus popular in Malkuth that consisted of three different, quirky people. She had seen them once, when they had arrived briefly in Daath when she was young. They had been... interesting, to say the least.

But enough of her deep thinking. She needed to find Ion.

"Did you see that strange boy and lady who went to the flower beds?" a young lady suddenly said to Sacha as she walked to where the inn was. Stopping, the brunette blinked at her.

"Um... you do know that I'm an Oracle Knight, right?"

"Yes, silly, but you seem nice enough." The woman waved her hand dismissively, making Sacha blush a little. "One of them had similar clothes to you, and the other – oh my! He has the longest hair I have ever seen! As red as the flames of Lorelei themselves!"

Sacha closed her eyes in thought, humming gently to herself as she took in the information. Someone with the same kind of uniform as her..? She couldn't have meant Anise; she was away in Kaitzur, trying to get passports apparently, according to her letter. So who could it have been...

"But they're not the only sly new folk around here," the woman continued on excitedly, voice reducing to a whisper as if she was telling some great secret. Sacha leaned in. "There was _the _Jade the Necromancer; and he was a striking fella indeed! Such beauty and wit about him; you wouldn't believe the rumours people have to tell about him. Harvesting dead corpses indeed!"

The woman gave a ridiculous snort, and continued.

"Finally, there was this most _dashing _swordsman; around my age too, and everything! But when I went close to him, try to flirt a little, you know what women do nowadays-" the woman gave a wink. "-He ran away like a cheagle to a liger! Honestly, he was shaking behind the inn shop and everything! Bit strange, if you ask me; especially since he was just _fine _with my husband." She let out a dreamy sigh. "He was such a smooth talker, too. Such a pity he appears to swing the other way."

"Um..." Sacha wasn't sure about what to say, instead trying to recover from her shock. Anise had mentioned Jade in her letter, but not a man terrified senseless of women... It was rather confusing, to be honest.

"Oh!" The woman gasped. "There was also the most _adorable _boy with them! He had such wide green eyes, although I can count the number of people I know with green hair on one hand without the fingers."

"Wha- h-he had green hair!" Sacha said loudly, her eyes widening. "Did he wear a mask?" After all, if it was Sync, then the Score really didn't like her.

"Whoa, relax! But yes, he had green hair. And as far as I can recall, he didn't have a mask. I'm not sure if you know them, but-" She jolted a thumb over in the direction of a small pathway beside the inn. There was a small hole in the wall, and Sacha could barely make out a flower bed on the other side. "-They're over in that small area now, if you're interested."

This woman must have been a gift from Yulia herself! She had managed to tell Sacha almost everything that she had wanted to know for months now in a few minutes! It was a miracle; truly amazing.

Bowing in gratitude, Sacha said. "Thank you so much for telling me all of this. This information will help me greatly."

"Haha, no need to bow!" the woman said, laughing loudly. "If you ever want to give good old Aimee a call, feel free to come around to my place anytime and have a chat. My husband tends to go off wandering, you see, and my son's forever in arguments over the Soil Tree. He's the boy over there right now, in fact."

Sacha stood up from her bow, smiling widely. "I promise I'll repay you someday, for everything. And I'm terribly sorry, but I really do have to hurry. They might leave without me!"

There had to be some way to reward Aimee for all of her help... but how?

Oh, of course.

Sacha took out a small amount of Gald from her pocket, and placed it into the woman's hands with a tight squeeze. "Here's a thousand Gald for all of your help. Thanks again."

The woman's eyes widened in horror, and she furiously shook her head. "Oh no no _no_! I can't take this much Gald! My family's fortunate if we get a hundred a month, much less a _thousand_!"

Sacha shook her head, knowing that she would react like that. A lot of people tended to do so. "Please, I insist. My family's quite rich. We'll be fine."

She made her way to the flower beds before the woman had a chance to speak back.

* * *

><p>The fresh smell of flowers mixed with the spring breeze hit her nose as soon as she entered, and Sacha couldn't help but smile widely. In Daath, she didn't get to smell the spring breeze too often, since they were often at the beach whenever the weather was good. The smells always made her smile, and feel a strange happy feeling.<p>

There were a few benches dotted along the single, weaving stone path that led through the many flowers. On either side of the long path, flowers and plants of all different species were in full bloom, creating a colorful blast of blue, white and red all around the green grass. The sun was still in full shine, although it was starting to dip down a little bit in the flawless blue sky.

Making her way through the gardens slowly, Sacha eventually saw five small blobs of people in the distance. They were at the end of the pathway, as it opened up into a large stone plaza surrounded by large trees and benches. Sacha walked up to the end, hoping that her shoes weren't making too much noise.

She had to strain her ears to listen to the quiet chatter of the people.

"-And I said that I wanna go to the inn! I'm cold, I'm hungry, and this place is as boring as hell!" a whiny voice said loudly.

"Oh, come on Luke," a deeper voice said playfully. "It's beautiful here. Especially all of the flowers. They really liven up the place, don't you think?"

"Only _you _would think that, Guy."

"You agree with me, don't you Tear?"

"Huh?" a female voice said, confused. "Oh, yes. I don't see flowers too often, apart from selenia flowers. They only bloom at night, after all."

"Interesting," another male, different from the other two, said. Sacha barely saw a blue figure shrug his shoulders. "But I do agree with our spoiled noble here. It _is _getting rather late. We should head back to the inn and discuss our plan for tomorrow."

"We need to leave tomorrow," Tear said. "If we stay here too long, the Oracle Knights will begin to become suspicious of us."

"But we need to be wary of the God-Generals," Guy put in. "There's _six _of them out there; only Asch the Bloody isn't here. I think most of them would have left, but Largo would have stayed here. I think it's the first division that's deployed here."

Sacha's heart nearly skipped a beat. Largo? _Master _Largo? W-what was he doing here in Saint Binah?

"Does it matter?" Luke whined again, and it looked like he was pulling at his hair angrily. "I wanna get some _sleep!_"

"Luke," Tear said in an angry tone. "Show some manners!"

"But-"

"Please don't fight," a quiet voice put in silently.

Sacha's eyes widened, and her heart skipped several beats. She would recognize that voice anyway, no matter where she went.

That was _Ion_. She had found him, after almost two months of searching, she had found him!

He was okay. He wasn't dead in some pit, or unconscious, or hurt in any way. Ion was _okay_.

She leaned against the tree, taking in a deep breath to help regain some of her composure. Why was she getting so worried over him? Of course Ion was fine; he could take care of himself, despite the fact that he was unable to use many Daathic fonic artes. Of course, that was because...

She shook her head furiously. She was overthinking things. _Way _too much.

"Now, now. Who do we have here?"

Sacha gasped loudly and looked up into two burning red eyes, hidden by glasses that gleamed in the sunlight. His honey-brown hair fell messily over his shoulders, and there was a small smile on his face. It made her shiver a little.

"Um... uh... I'm..."

That _bastard_! So _this _was the colonel Anise talked about, or Jade Curtiss.

He really was as creepy and dark as the rumours made him out to be.

"Someone who has struggle speaking?"

"N-n-no!"

She needed to _STOP STUTTERING, DAMN IT!_

"Who the hell are you?" the whiny boy from earlier asked, his emerald-green eyes looking at Sacha disapprovingly as he eyed her up. "Are you some kind of _stalker _or something?"

"I'm not-"

She stopped herself once she saw his blazing red hair that fell to his waist, and tried not to laugh at it. However, it seemed that Luke had caught what she was looking at.

"What? What's so funny?"

"I'm not-"

"Come on, you two," a young man with short blond hair said, glancing around the corner. "Give this lovely lady a chance to speak, alright?"

She couldn't help the blush that came onto her cheeks and ears, no matter how much she willed it to go away. Luke gave the man a deadpan look.

"Stop flirting with every girl you see!"

"W-what?" He looked surprised. "How am I flirting with her? I'm only saying the truth!"

Sacha blushed further. Luke facepalmed.

"You _see_?"

"Uh, no?"

Then came the face that she had wanted to see so badly. Ion walked to the front of her, his kind green eyes wide with surprise. He looked at her for what felt like eternity, before a large and warm smile came onto his face.

"Sacha! Is that you?"

Smiling, the brunette bent down and pulled the Fon Master into a warm hug. She squeezed him tightly, feeling his head rest on her shoulder.

"Ion! I've been so worried about you! I received a letter from Anise that you were safe, but-"

She shook her head as relief washed over her.

"You're safe. You're really safe."

"What the _hell!_" Luke shouted, pushing the two of them apart from each other. Sacha immediately glared at him angrily. Who did he think he was? "Why the heck are you hugging Ion? Do you know him?"

She barely avoided replying with a sarcastic comment, but nodded. "Yeah. We're pretty close. I've been looking for him for a few months now."

The boy gave her a blank look. Tear, who had now come to stand next to him, continued.

"You must be a Fon Master Guardian."

"Yeah."

"That would explain on how you know Anise, correct?" Jade asked. Sacha turned to face the man fully, feeling a chill wash down her spine that had nothing to do with the temperature.

"Yep. Me and Anise are... well, we're best friends, if you want to put it in a simple way."

A silence fell over them, the only sound the birds chirping in the treetops nearby. Sacha smiled nervously. The others stared at her oddly.

Then Luke screamed. Loudly.

"What the- that makes no sense!"

"It does, actually," Guy said, looking thoughtful. "If I read correctly, Fon Master Attendants often work in groups together to protect the Fon Master. I wouldn't be surprised."

"No, we've known each other long before that. For about three years."

Tear smiled. "The two of you sound close."

"Oh, we are."

Ion looked up at her, smiling. "It's good to see that you're okay, Sacha. Truth be told, I was getting a bit concerned for your well-being. Where Anise goes, you normally follow."

"Oh, _Ion_," Sacha said playfully. "I'm not that bad, am I? Besides, we were sent to different locations. Even I can't outright disobey the Order of Lorelei's orders."

Ion laughed softly. "I suppose that's true." He then looked around the small group of people, a serious look set on his face. Sacha shifted slightly, having a small idea of what the book was about to ask the others. "May I ask you all a favor?"

The others all nodded, apart from Luke. He scratched the edge of his nose and frowned. "If it's about dragging your girlfriend along with us, hell no." Turning around from the others, he let out a huff.

Tear glared at him, Sacha too busy blushing to do the duty herself. Ion as her b-boyfriend? It was ridiculous! The boy was _years _her junior; Luke was being a complete and utter idiot!

Besides, she thought of him as a lost little brother who needed to find his way in the world. As his _girlfriend_?

More chance of rappigs flying.

"I-I'm not his girlfriend!" Sacha stammered in shock. Ion was too busy blushing and staring wide-eyed at Luke to answer.

Jade looked at the redhead's back with a cheerful smile. "Oh, why not. We could always do with the extra numbers; never heard of strength in numbers, my boy?"

Luke still didn't turn around, instead opting to cross his arms and stick his head up arrogantly.

Tear was the next to speak, glaring at Luke from under her light brown hair. "No one said that we had to listen to you. If you continue to insist upon having that childish attitude, then maybe _we _should be the ones to leave _you _behind."

Now Luke turned around, his eyes wide. "What? _No _chance!"

"Oh, come on Tear!" Guy chirped in cheerfully, smiling. "I agree with not making Luke our leader, since no offense-" He added hastily when the boy glared at him. "-but he's rubbish at making decisions. I don't think having an extra person along is going to hurt anyone."

"But we'll need to get more _food_!" Luke whined.

"Your family's rich," Tear said.

"She's probably got some freaky weird weapon!"

"They sell my weapons at _plenty _of places, thank you very much," Sacha said in an irritated tone. Something told her that she wasn't going to get along well with Luke at all.

"The inn's gonna cost more!"

"We all pay for our own rooms," Jade sounded as if he was describing something to a child. "Besides, we can always make you sleep outside on the ground."

"The-"

Guy sighed and gave the boy a tired look. "_Luke_. Let her tag along for a while. Besides, she's a Fon Master Attendant. She's going to insist on coming with us to look after Ion."

"Yeah, but-"

"She's coming with us," Jade announced, breaking off Luke's sentence. Sacha sighed inwards with relief when he held out his right hand. "Jade Curtiss, Malkuth Imperial Forces, Third Division. It's an honour to meet yet another Attendant."

Sacha wasn't sure if the brunet was joking or not; his tone was bordering dangerously on the line between serious and humour. She shook his hand, smiling. "Ionian Sergeant and Oracle Knight Fon Master Attendant Sacha Eclinn."

When the two let go of each other's iron grip, Luke shuffled up to her and lazily stuck out a hand, standing with a slacked attitude. "Luke fon Fabre, son of Duke Fabre and nephew to King Ingobert VI. Your title's _way _too long. Also, stay quiet, and we'll be fine."

"You do the same, now," Sacha said cheerfully, letting go of his hand, although she was shaking with anger inside. He had some _serious _attitude problems!

Tear held out her own hand stiffly. "Tear Grants. I'm under the deployment of Grand Maestro Mohs."

Sacha's eyes widened. "E-excuse me? Are you the Commandant's younger sister?" When Tear didn't answer, she went on. "It's amazing to finally meet you!"

"Finally?" Tear repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"He talks about you, sometimes," Sacha explained, smiling. "So do Major Legretta and Major Cantabile. They all think very highly of you."

"T-thank you," Tear stuttered, blushing a little as they let go of each other. Sacha did her best not to smile, but couldn't help the tiny smile that sneaked through.

She looked over at the others once no one came to her. Ion was smiling towards her, Jade too. Tear was looking down, Luke was acting as his typical moody self, and Guy-

Was shifting away from her? Why was he doing that? She didn't stink _that _much, did she?

"Umm... are you alright?" she asked nervously, walking closer towards the blond. However, he let out a squeak and leapt back, shaking wildly. "No really, are you-"

"_Stay away from me_!"

She stretched out a hand to place on his shoulder, only for him to shriek and smash his head against a large tree nearby. Sacha blinked as he slid down it, groaning loudly.

"I forgot to mention," Luke said. "He doesn't like women."

"That's an _understatement_," Sacha said to herself as the man shook his head, standing back up again. "I don't wish to offend you, but_ why _are you scared of me touching you?"

"I-it's all women in general," Guy added shakily. "I'm really sorry. I can't help it, and I don't remember how I got it."

"Um..." Rubbing her arm, Sacha had no idea on what to say next. Should she ask him on who he was, exactly? "Can you tell me who you are, if you don't mind? I won't touch you."

"Thanks." Guy rubbed the back of his head. "I'm Guy Cecil. I work as a servant in Luke's manor. I was ordered by his father, Duke Fabre, to search for him."

"...You already know who I am, right?"

"Heh, yeah."

"Well, now that _that's _out of the way," Jade said, shrugging his shoulders. "Why don't we go back to the inn and discuss our strategy for tomorrow? Besides, I can't keep up with the keen youngsters of today. I need my rest."

Tear looked at him blankly, shaking her head. "I can't _believe _you."

"You come out with the most random things," Luke moaned, already making his way back to the entrance of the large gardens. When the others didn't follow him, he turned to them.

"Hurry up! The old man needs his rest!"

"I don't think Jade's the only one who needs his rest," Guy added slyly, looking over at Luke.

"H-hey! I heard that!"

"I think you were meant to," Tear said quietly, smiling a little when Luke looked over his shoulder at her.

"Why do you always make fun of me?"

Ion smiled, not answering Luke's question as he slowly walked up to the older boy. Sacha's eyes narrowed at him in worry. His skin looked rather pale, and he had large black bags underneath his eyes.

"Have you done anything to Ion? He doesn't look well," she demanded, making the others stop and look at her. Putting her hands on her waist, she glanced over the small group of people. "Well?"

"Why are you looking at _me_?" Luke asked, narrowing his already-narrow eyes back at her. "I didn't do anything. _He _was the idiot who decided that going into the Cheagle Woods by himself was smart."

"Don't call Ion an idiot!"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"Damn right!" Sacha shouted at him angrily, feeling a pang of guilt when Ion gasped. "J-just _please_, bring someone with you next time you decide to do anything like that. Sorry."

"N-no," Ion said shakily, still clearly surprised by Sacha's sudden outburst. It made the guilty feeling in her stomach sink more. "It's okay. We should get to the inn before any God-Generals see us. We... we're in no fit condition to take them on."

"Indeed." Jade nodded his approval, sweeping ahead the others. "Especially if Asch the Bloody or Cantabile the Phoenix were to see us. Apparently, the two of them are capable of taking on entire armies by themselves; and winning."

"_What?_" Luke asked in horror. "Well come on then! I don't want to be anyway _near _those freaks!"

With that, the redhead took off running, leaving a small silence behind him.

"I'd better go after him before he does anything reckless," Guy said, grinning as he rubbed the back of his neck. "He tends to be an idiot when I'm not around. Meet you all at the inn." Flashing a dazing smile at them (that made both Sacha and Tear blush), he sprinted off after his master.

"Ah, the youngsters of today," Jade announced, sighing dramatically as he walked forward with his hands shoved into his blue pockets. "Let's go and follow them before they do anything reckless, shall we?"

"You coming, Ion?" Sacha asked, looking over her shoulder. The boy was currently staring off into the sky, watching the sunset rays paint the clouds a hazy orange and cast long shadows across the fields. Blinking in surprise, he turned back to face the two females left.

"Of course. I'm sorry for making you wait."

"It's fine."

Tear smiled at the two of them. "We need to rest for the night. Let's go."

"Right!"

With that, the group took off back into the city of Saint Binah.


	4. Chapter III: Camping Out in Fubras River

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1.

**A/N: **Thank you again to _DAve and Bob _for reviewing, as well as everyone who alerted this and/or added this to their favourites! It really does bring a smile onto my face, so thank you all.

This only took so long because I'd gotten all sorts of other pieces wrote out already, but none of them were suitable to this chapter... until now. And this is the longest chapter I've ever wrote for anything... XD

Hope you all enjoy!

Notes: I support the pairings Guy/Luke and Guy/Tear, as well as Very Awkward Situations. You'll see soon enough.

* * *

><p>ஜ۩۞۩ஜ -The Faithful Sentinel- ஜ۩۞۩ஜ<p>

_Chapter III: Camping Out in Fubras River_

* * *

><p><em>Gnomeday, 38 Rem Decan. AD2018<em>

"_Inappropriate dirty joke from Jade number... I lost count after twenty."_

* * *

><p>"<em>Ouch<em>!"

Tear poked her head around the corner of the inn room, the soft green glow of Seventh Fonons already forming in her hand. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes once she saw Sacha on the edge of her bed, trying to comb out her hair.

Key word was _trying_.

"Are you all right?" Tear asked.

"I'm _fine_!" Sacha's voice went up a notch when she got tangled into a particularly sore spot in her hair. Wincing as she tried to knot it out, she turned around to face Tear, her messy hair falling to her elbows in a clump of mats and tangles. "My hair isn't normally _this _bad to comb out."

"What kind of comb are you using?"

"A bad on- _ouch!_"

Tear put her hands on her hips, sighing. "Everyone else is eating breakfast outside. Jade managed to make some toast for us, while I got some fresh water. Are you coming?"

"I'll be out in a minute," the Oracle Knight answered, doing her best to not wince again as she combed over a small tangle. She put the comb onto the bed and quickly ran her fingers through her hair. It felt pretty dry, like old straw, and that was when she remembered that she had never had her shower last night. "_Damn_!"

"What's the matter?" Tear asked, sounding a bit irritated.

"I'm going to _stink _now. Like Gloomietta when she comes back from playing with her ligers," Sacha grumbled, more to herself than anyone else as she stood up. She gave herself a check-over in the mirror, to check that she had everything that she needed. Luke had the item bag, so all she really needed was her weapons, which she had.

"Who's Gloomietta?" Tear asked, tilting her head slightly in curiosity.

Oh, that was right. Arietta's lovable nickname was an inside joke between herself and Anise. The word had slipped out naturally. She couldn't be so easy-going and carefree around these strange new people. They might think that she was odd, after all.

Okay, so she was, but they didn't need to know that just yet.

Sacha turned around to give Tear what she hoped was a convincing smile. "Oh, just someone that I used to work with. Nothing you need to know."

"Is that her real name?"

"No. It's a little nickname she has. She doesn't mind being called that."

She _hoped _that Arietta didn't mind being called that.

But she probably would. After all, this was _Arietta _that they were talking about.

"Anyway-" Sacha turned to Tear with a small smile. "-Let's go out and meet up with the others. We have to leave Saint Binah as soon as we can, right?"

Tear nodded. "Yes. If we linger here for too long, then we may be spotted by one of the God-Generals."

"Hmm... If we came across Dist the Reaper, we should be fine. He just spends all day writing in his revenge journal and obsessing over his 'friend'. But he _is _pretty good with fontech, so..."

"You seem to know a lot about the God-Generals," Tear observed, giving Sacha another one of her icy looks again. It made the woman shift in discomfort; Tear seemed to know an awful lot for her young age as well.

"I _am _a Fon Master Guardian. There are only a few ranks that are higher than Attendants in the Order of Lorelei."

"Really? Like what?"

"Well, the-"

"-If you don't mind my interruption-" Sacha squeaked in surprise as Jade's head peeked in from the particularly open door, his glasses gleaming. "-Breakfast _will _have been eaten by Luke, unless you two hurry."

Tear, of all things, rolled her eyes. "That is something Luke would do. We're coming now."

"Wait, _are _we?" Sacha asked, her hand still in her hair as she tried to find her comb. She had somehow least. "But there's a _comb _in my hair!"

"Then I trust that you can comb it out." Tear grabbed the woman's arm and began to drag her out of the room, her high heels clicking on the wooden panels. She slammed down a small amount of Gald onto the inn desk as she walked past without stopping. The inn keeper looked beside herself with joy.

"Tear, there's a _comb _in my hair!"

"So?"

Sacha sighed. "I swear..."

After they had all eaten breakfast (Luke had managed to eat most of Sacha's by the time the two finally arrived, and so Tear had to spilt hers with the Attendant), the group were walking towards the entrance of the city, busy chatting along themselves. Sacha was talking with Ion about how he was faring, while Jade and Tear were locked into an intense discussion over the various torture methods that an army could use. Luke and Guy had opted for a lighter topic, talking about Luke's 'Grand Adventure'. Sacha smiled upon seeing the red-haired noble smack his friend on the head a fair few times.

"Yeah, but I'll pass on any more 'adventures' like this anytime soon."

Then they came across a tall figure at the entrance, with the God-General icon on her cape. She had short purple hair cut into a boyish style, her weapon, a long katana, strapped safely to her side. Her long cape blew out behind her in the gentle wind, although there was no doubting the fierceness behind the gentle look.

All of them stopped walking, and Sacha bumped into the back of a shocked Tear.

"What's the matter..?"

"M-Major Cantabile?"

Luke turned to Tear, watching as her visible eye widened in surprise. He whirled back to face the purple-haired woman, who slowly stalked towards them, heels clicking on the ground. Jade, Ion and Sacha were busy ushering all of the citizens away from the small plaza, just in case a fight would break out between them all.

And given the look on the God-General's face, the likelihood of that happening was pretty likely.

"Tear," the woman's voice broke out, clear as the flawless sky above them. Luke instinctively flexed his fingers onto the handle of his sword. He may not have been able to do much, but _damn _it if he wasn't going to give her one hell of a fight.

"Major," Tear replied, her voice more firm. Her staff came to her hand in a flash of light, her eyes narrowed. "Why are you here in Saint Binah?"

"I would have said you'd grown," Cantabile began with a smirk, ignoring Tear's question. "But from hanging around a bunch of morons, I change my opinion."

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Luke spat out furiously. He was not a moron! Everyone else was, definitely, but he was _Luke_! He had been trained by Master Van himself; there was _no _way he was a moron! "I'm not a moron!"

"The son of Duke Fabre, huh-" Something foreign flashed in her golden eye, something that looked like hatred, but it was gone before Luke could make it out. "-How pathetic. _Especially _given that that _bastard_ of a human being took so much from me."

"What are you _talking _about?" Luke roared angrily.

"Jade the Necromancer. I had hoped that you had wiped out the moron on the Tarturus, and now you have a fon slot seal? Not so strong now, are you?"

"I may not be as strong as I used to be," Jade began coolly. "But I am still more than capable of defeating you."

Her eye fell briefly on Tear, before she turned to face Sacha, who was defensively standing in front of Ion with her arms outstretched. "Huh. You're the annoying brat who tags along with Anise on anything that sorry excuse does."

"It's called friendship. I know you're not familiar with it and all, but go and read about it or something."

Cantabile snorted loudly, but didn't answer. Instead, her hand danced over the handle of her katana, making the others tease up. "The Fon Master, a failure, an Attendant, the Necromancer, my former pupil, and-"

She suddenly cut herself off when her eyes fell onto Guy. Golden eye widening in horror, she stared blankly at him, as if he was some kind of monster.

A few tease seconds went past, as Luke tried to take in the sight in front of him. A God-General who was meant to be able to wipe out whole armies?

Man, she didn't look like it.

Guy shifted, gazing to the ground uncomfortably. "D-do I know you?"

Cantabile did something that Luke would have never thought a God-General would do. She stepped back in shock, holding a hand over her mouth, horrified.

"W-what? You don't..."

"Um..."

The soldier seemed to snap out of her state of shock. She turned to Luke, a sneer on her face. "Never mind. Since I've managed to find the wonderful Fon Master here, don't you think I should take him away from you bunch of idiots?"

"Not a chance!" Sacha shouted out, just as Tear made her way over to Ion, who was currently holding onto his own weapon. "He's staying here with us, if you like it or not!"

"I don't know who you think you are!" Luke snapped, glaring at the woman as he took out his sword. The familiar weight of it in his hand was comforting, and reminded him that he wasn't as helpless as everyone living in Saint Binah. "But you can stay the hell away from Ion!"

"Agreed," Jade said smoothly. "Without Ion, the peace treaty would fall through. The last thing Malkuth or Kimlasca needs is yet another war on their hands."

"And what about Daath?"

Jade shrugged. "Daath as well, I suppose."

"You're all so pathetic," Cantabile muttered, closing her eye. She sheathed her katana away, making the others glare at her suspiciously. "I'm not in the mood for fighting today."

"Hey!" Sacha called out as the God-General turned and began to walk away. "You're _always _in the mood for fighting!"

"I don't want to have a battle of wits with people who are unarmed. That's just plain cruel."

"A battle of wits with- _hey!_" Luke shouted out, prepared to run over to her.

"Besides," she glanced over her shoulder at the small group. Her gaze stayed on Guy, before she broke the eye contact, looking up to the clear sky thoughtfully. "I have my reasons. It's just a shame some people can't remember that."

With that, she took off, her long black cape flying in the wind as she walked out of Saint Binah. She stopped briefly to talk to an Oracle Knight, and slapped him on the head before sending him off to remove the troops from the area. Luke briefly caught the word moron repeated a few times, but he didn't really care. After all, she wasn't important to him; she looked like a _pirate_, what with that freaky brown eye patch and short purple hair. Also, who had _purple _hair nowadays?

That girl was weird.

"Man, she's annoying," he grumbled, putting his hands on his hips and gazing after the God-General.

"Then you two should get along like a house on fire," Jade interrupted with his usual jolly tone, grinning. "You have so many things in common, after all."

"_Shut up_!"

"Do you know her from somewhere, Guy?" Tear asked, coldly glaring at the blond man. He rubbed the back of his head, a rare frown on his face.

"No. I've never seen her before, but she seems to know me well enough."

"From as far as I know," Sacha put her hand onto her chin, looking thoughtful. "The only person Cantabile is close to is the Commandant. Apparently she lost her home when she was young, but... that's all she ever tells anyone about her past. I tried to ask her once, and I ended up with a black eye."

Sacha rubbed subconsciously at her left eye, groaning. "_Man, _that was hurting for a while..."

Ion coughed softly, making the small group all look at him. "I don't wish to be a nuisance, but we need to get moving to Kaitzur, correct? Anise will be waiting for us there with the peace letter."

"Indeed. We all know that our lovable Attendant has the patience of a saint, after all." Jade had already began to walk out of the city entrance, smiling to himself. The lens of his glasses gleamed sinisterly in the sunlight.

"...That _was _sarcasm, right?" Luke asked with a dead-pan expression on his face, looking out of the corner of his eye at the others.

"Oh no, I was deadly serious, Luke."

"Uh-_huh_, and Guy likes women."

"Hey!"

* * *

><p>After doing a quick check over and finding Luke a new capacity core (he had lost his previous one sometime during the night at the inn, and was convinced that someone in their group had stolen it), the group of seven were finally at the entrance to Fubras River. Well, if a small pile of unorganized rocks messily placed into the ground counted as an entrance, that was. They had run the whole way there in order to avoid any Oracle Knights attacking them, and they were all thoroughly exhausted.<p>

All apart from Jade, who merrily walked in the front of the group as if he had just woken up to a fresh spring morning.

"W-what the _hell _is wrong with you?" Luke snapped through his heavy pants. He stood up straight to glare at the older man.

"Luke, I assume that you don't know what a Field of Fonons is?" Jade asked cheerfully, completely ignoring Luke's question and insult.

"A Field of- _what_?"

"I'll take that as a no." Jade's eyes fell onto Guy. "Surely, as his servant, you should have taught him the basics of combat?"

"I don't know that much myself, to be honest," he replied, flashing a smile. "Besides, we only taught Luke the bare essentials. It's pretty hard to do when he jumps out of windows to avoid classes and breaks his leg."

"Classes are _boring_!" Luke whined. "I'd much rather spend time with you then go to classes."

"L-Luke," Guy stammered, his cheeks taking on a light blush. "Do you really have to say it like that?"

"Like what? It's the truth."

"_Luke_!"

"A Field of Fonons is when after an arte is used, a circle of a particular type of fonons are left behind," Tear began, upon seeing that the two younger men in their group were likely to either fall into an argument or embarrass themselves.

"Then, using that field, you can release more powerful attacks onto the enemy, or use them to your advantage," Sacha continued. She pushed herself off the rock side that she had been leaning on. It looked when she would have to get practical to explain things.

"You see the fonons gathered in a small circle. If you want to be able to utilize it efficiently, the circle must be fully coloured in," Ion said in his quiet yet powerful voice, smiling at Luke. "It's general knowledge along all citizens of Auldrant."

"_I_ didn't know," Luke grumbled under his breath, sending a glare at Jade.

"You're not normal," Tear said icily.

"H-hey!"

"Likewise, if the circle is white, then it will be useless unless you have a sunlight chamber equipped onto the arte you are using. Finally, enemies can also use any Field of Fonons we lay down, just as we can use theirs. You should get the hang of it soon enough," Jade finished, looking smug with himself. Luke stared at him, confused.

"What the hell's a _sunlight chamber_?"

"We won't worry your simple mind over it right now. Tear, if you would as kind as to summon a Field of Fonons for us?"

"H-hey!"

Tear nodded, holding her small staff out in front of her. A light green circle suddenly glowed a few feet away from her in a perfect round shape. "Is that okay?"

"That's excellent, Tear."

"You get it now, Luke?" Guy asked, crossing his arms as he looked over to the younger boy. He looked back to the blond with a scowl on his face.

"Yeah... kind of."

"You haven't got a clue, have you?" the man asked, grinning at his friend. Luke glared back at him with a frown.

"S-shut up!"

"Look Luke, I'll show you," Sacha said, briefly glancing over to the two of them before walking over to where the circle was. She stepped inside the small field, already feeling the fonons beginning to whirl around in like two magnets attached to each other. "You already know how Butterfly Kiss works, right?"

"Yeah."

"But, if I use it in here-" Sacha leapt up into the air and sent the fonons crashing down to the ground with her weapons. A small whirlwind formed beneath her, before she sliced it in half and twirled gracefully. Landing on her feet, she turned to face Luke, who currently looked as if he had seen a two-headed monster. "-Then it turns into a different arte that uses that particular fonon. For example, that arte was Caress Storm. You get it?"

After a few seconds, Luke groaned and fell to the ground. "I _so _do not get _any_ of this."

"You'll learn as you battle," Jade said cheerfully. His lance suddenly flashed into his hand. "Speaking of which, here come some enemies now."

"Wait, what?"

"Get ready Luke!" Tear shouted. She quickly began to chant her Nightmare arte, the melody of the First Fonon echoing all around them.

"And do you know what the best thing is?" Jade asked, smiling wildly. Luke rolled his eyes, grumbling as he took out his sword.

"No, I don't. _Please _do tell me."

"These monsters thrive on water. Right now, it's raining." Just as Jade had said that, the dark clouds overhead had parted, and heavy rain began to lash down furiously on them. Ion yelped in surprise at the sudden wetness, while Tear sighed in a mixture of irritation and tiredness. A small and blue monster hopped around the corner, its arms stretching out far behind it. It made a loud croaking noise at them, before two more identical monsters joined it on either side.

"It's a group," Sacha muttered sarcastically. "Yay." She drew her weapons with a heavy sigh and leapt at them. She hated it when they all decided to attack at once; although it gave out more experience, and helped her capacity core to level up quicker, it was still annoying. And it was raining, which would only make them stronger.

"My hair is going to be _soaking_. It's going to get in the way." Tear unleashed her Nightmare arte with a sigh, briefly glancing up to the dark sky. There was some mist beginning to form in the daylight as well.

"Maybe you should, oh, I don't know, _cut_ it?" Luke suggested with a sneer on his face. Sacha snorted.

"Yeah, _you're _one to talk. Looked in the mirror lately?"

"Yeah, and I've seen the best person in the world looking back at me."

Guy sighed. "_Luke_, are you _kidding _me?"

"W-what? What did I say now?"

"Concentrate on the fight!"

"Hey!"

Jade unleashed a Splash arte onto one of the monsters, closing his eyes when the centre Ribbit grew larger in size. It almost looked as if it was grinning widely. "I had forgotten that they were stronger when infused with water."

Of course, Luke couldn't miss the chance to goat at the Colonel. "Haha! And you call _me _stupid!" He winced as a Ribbit lurched at him, smacking him down to the ground. His sword fell out of his hands, useless. "Uh, guys? A little bit of help here?"

Ion ran over and smacked the monster off with his staff, a rare look of malice on his face. It quickly vanished as he held out his hand for Luke to take. "Here."

Luke slapped the hand away and stood up on his own. He then picked up his sword while staring at Ion, surprised. "Wait a second; you can _fight_?"

"Of course," Ion said brightly. "I just can't use Daathic fonic artes too well, and I do not know any other ones. I am fully capable of smacking a few monsters senseless."

"Coming from you, Ion," Sacha interrupted, flashing a grin at them as she side-stepped an attack and threw an apple gel on herself. "That just sounds weird."

"But it's true."

"Still weird."

"Hey, guys!" Guy called out loudly, trying to fight off all three of the monsters at once. "As much as I love your bonding time, a little bit of help would be great!"

"_Fine_!" Luke said, sighing. He ran over to his friend, and with a quick Fang Blade, managed to deflect one of the monsters away.

Tear held out her staff as the Seventh Fonons rushed forth from her body. "First Aid!"

"Thunder Lance!" Green lightning crackled down from the tip of Jade's weapon, downing one of the Ribbits. It croaked weakly, its arms flopping to either side of its body as it began to glow. It quickly floated upwards into tiny balls of light that gradually died out. Sacha didn't miss the look of horror on Luke's face, even though the pouring rain. Speaking of the rain, it had somehow only gotten worse.

"_Damn it!_" Luke swore, blindly swinging his large sword around. "I can't see a thing!" Everywhere that he looked, there was a heavy grey mist surrounding them, tinged with purple. It made everything into dark blobs of shadows, making it impossible to see.

"_Don't swing that thing around!"_ Sacha shrieked, her voice reaching dangerously high levels as the teenager's sword narrowly missed her neck. "_Stay still and don't move!_"

"But-"

"Leave it to Jade and Tear!" Ion shouted. He held his weapon out in front of him, eyes closed as he felt the fonons swarm around him. "I'll try to cast an arte to help us see!"

"Ion-" Sacha began worriedly. "Stop-"

"Illumine!" The area around them suddenly grew brighter, as if the sun had suddenly come out from behind the shadows of the hills. "Hurry!" Ion continued, panting from exhaustion. "It won't last for too long!"

"Ion-"

"-I'll be fine," Ion cut off the worrying Attendant with a smile. "Defeat the rest of them!"

"_FOR THE LOVE OF-_" Luke screamed. "_THERE'S A GIANT TURTLE NOW!_"

Sure enough, a large tortoise had wandered into the fight, slugging its way towards them with heavy steps. Each step that it took rumbled the ground.

"_Tortoise!"_ Guy corrected hurriedly, wincing as he stumbled back from a powerful strike. "And who has the item bag? I need an apple gel!"

"Here!" Sacha called, throwing the small gel over to the swordsman. He grabbed it, and flashed a grin at her before rushing forward with a Void Tempest.

"Thanks!"

"Nightmare!" Tear called out, just as Jade had cast his Stalagmite arte onto the new enemy. The combined might of the fonons caused the large animal to be flipped onto its shell, the blue legs of it flailing wildly as it tried to jump back onto its feet.

"That worked well," Jade said. He dispatched one of the Ribbits that had been knocked to the ground by Sacha's Butterfly Kiss on his way to the giant monster. It suddenly flipped back round, sending him and Tear flying high into the air. "Or not."

"Frigid Moon!" Guy called out, groaning when the monster simply shoved him aside. "Guess not _all _Field of Fonons are useful..."

"Leave the water based ones to me!" Tear cried out upon seeing Guy's failure. "I can cast Mediation, and it restores far more health than First Aid."

"All right!" The man stood back up again, and shaking his head, went back in for the kill. Luke had destroyed the final Ribbit with a simple stab, leaving everyone to gang up onto the sole monster. It never stood a chance.

"Done!" Ion called out as he dealt the finished blow, watching as the monster dispatched into blue fonons that floated upwards to the fonon belt.

"W-we need to find a place to stop!" Luke clattered through his teeth. Now that the rush of the battle had left his pulsing veins, he could easily feel the freezing air and mist surround him like a cold blanket. "I-I'm freezing!"

"How about over there?" Tear suggested, pointing to a small dip in the landscape, where small rocks covered some of it overhead. "We can set up camp there?"

"_Camp_?" Sacha repeated in surprise. How exactly were they meant to set up camping in the middle of a storm? A sudden dryness suddenly hit her throat, and she began to cough wildly. Everyone turned to look at her in concern and surprise, Luke with a look of irritation.

"What's wrong?"

"N-nothing." Her throat still felt painfully dry. What was that all about? "I'm fine. Let's go and set up camp somewhere."

"Sacha, are you certain?" Ion asked softly. She nodded at him.

"Yeah, I'm positive. But how exactly are we meant to set up camp? I mean-" She gestured up. "-Forgive me for stating the obvious, but it's raining."

"Guy brought along a tent for him and Luke," Jade said, smiling as he turned around. He started to walk towards the spot Tear had mentioned earlier. "No doubt to-"

"_JADE!_" The two men in question shouted furiously. Sacha noted with slight amusement and a smile that Guy was blushing.

"_Please _stop making inappropriate jokes, Jade," Tear deadpanned, shaking her head.

"Ion..." Sacha whispered, slightly fearing the answer. "Did you, ah, _hear _any of Jade's 'dirty jokes'?"

"There was one about Luke and Guy having long swords..." Ion said innocently, blinking up to her. "What does that mean?"

All colour fled from Sacha's face upon thinking through the comment. That dirty bas-

"Never mind."

"Do you feel sick?" he asked, tilting his head. "You look very pale."

"I'm... fine. Let's go and set up camp."

"Are you certain?"

"I'm _fine_." Sacha gritted through her teeth. "Peachy, rosy, couldn't be better if Yulia came shining down on me with Seventh Fonons and promise of a happy Score!"

Ion was about to ask more, but the murderous look on Sacha's face stopped him from doing so.

* * *

><p>The light platter of rain from earlier on had now turned into a lashing storm full of howling wind and angry droplets. Thankfully, the mist seemed to have cleared.<p>

Shivering, Sacha unconsciously wormed into Tear's warm body tighter, one arm gripping a blue blanket over her chest while the other draped over Ion's shoulder. Jade was sat to the left of Luke, merrily drinking out of a small cup of smoking tea. Luke was greedily trying to grab it from the Necromancer's hands, but pouted and fell back onto the soggy ground beneath them. Guy was busy cleaning his sword with some rags, occasionally stopping to lean his head back and listen to the rain droplets platter against the tent roof.

Ion let out a small sigh and closed his eyes. "It's such a shame the weather is terrible today. We could have easily travelled to the other side in just a few hours, if it wasn't for this awful storm."

"Damn right," Luke grumbled, sitting up to see the others. "I'm _freezing_, and the last thing I want is to get my clothes wet."

"That is why you should follow the example of the Fon Master and the lovely ladies over there," Jade said brightly, taking another small sip of his drink. "Personally, I wouldn't mind a hug myself."

"_No _chance!" Luke sneered in disgust, shuffling towards Guy. "Guy's the only person I'd be _anyway_ near comfortable sleeping near!"

"Oh, Luke," Sacha said, smiling playfully. "If you swing that way, you can tell us."

Guy's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "W-_what_?"

"In Daath, homosexuality isn't discriminated," Ion said. It only took a quick glance from Sacha to convince him to join in with the joke. Besides, they were all looking pretty down, and needed something to cheer them up. Even if it was at the expense of poor Luke and Guy.

"Neither is it frowned upon in Malkuth," Jade continued, shrugging his shoulders as he put down his mug. "If anything, Emperor Peony encourages it. He claims that it will make Kimlasca follow by example."

Tear's head whirled around between them all in confusion. "W-what are you all talking about?"

"Oh _Tear_," Sacha said with a disapproving tone, leaning back as she tried to get more comfortable on the brunette's bony shoulder. "Luke and Guy; who else? Personally, I think the two of them would go well together; master and servant, _so _sweet!"

"Now hold on a second-" Guy began, standing up as his head briefly bumped against the top of the tent. However, he appeared to ignore it. "Me and Luke are friends, best friends. But we _don't_-"

"-They _do _claim that best friends often result in more-" Jade pushed the glasses up his nose further. They sparkled in the fire crackling inside the tent.

"-And it's often the best kind of romance there is-"

"-And the two of them do balance each other out," Ion finished, smiling. The smile was so innocent that it looked as if he could have been talking about what the Score had predicted for him. "Luke is outgoing and brave, while Guy is gentle and rather shy."

Now Luke stood up, his cheeks burning as brightly as his flaming hair. "-I'm not _outgoing_-"

"-_Shy!_" Guy asked, his eyes wide in surprise. "Fon Master, with all due respect, I'm not-"

"-You don't talk much," Tear smoothly cut in, looking at the blond with her intense icy eyes. "You could do with engaging more in group discussions."

"Well, I'm sorry for only meeting you a few _days _ago! At least give me a chance!"

"I like to think that I _am _giving you a chance."

"Oh no you're not! I teased you in Saint Binah, and then you _hugged _me! You _know _that I hate touching girls!"

"Only to get you to stop saying such ridiculous things."

"It was a _joke_!"

"Really?" Tear asked, eyes narrowed. "No one was laughing."

"That's because you have no sense of humour!"

All of the others in the small tent watched as the two bickered along themselves. Sacha closed her eyes, sighing loudly. Honestly, to think that Luke and Tear were bad... Luke was _nothing _compared to the roll that Guy and Tear could get on while talking. It somewhat surprised her, since the two of them had barely talked to each other, as far as Sacha had seen, and now they were _fighting_?

People were _so _weird.

"-You apparently read about _vacation spots_."

"Oh, please do forgive me for _daring_ to dream of a life outside Baticul. I offer my deepest apologizes to you."

"That is a very childish response."

"...Was that sarcasm?"

"Whatever gave you _that _idea?" Tear blinked slowly.

"Oh, let's see; the cold look on your face, your hands on hips pose, your-"

"...They're like a married couple," Sacha quietly whispered to Ion, who flashed a small smile at her before gazing over to Luke. The redhead currently looked worried, oddly enough, his frowned face as he glanced up to his friends. Suddenly, he stood up and grabbed Guy's arm.

"Hey, would you mind coming out with me to do some sword practice?"

Guy turned around to face him, confused. "Well, sure, but... don't you hate the rain?"

"_Anything_'s better than spending time with a bunch of freaks inside a cramped tent," he groaned loudly, looking at the others as if they were dirt on the bottom of his shoe. Laughing, Guy clamped a hand onto the teenager's shoulder.

"Well, all right then. Since you asked so nicely and all." The two of them walked out of the small tent, Guy flashing one final glance towards Tear before they were swallowed up by the darkness. Sacha stared after the exit, unsure of what to say or do except for stare at it with a wide mouth.

Luke had... Luke had just been _nice _about something! Okay, he was a bit of a jerk towards them all, but he was actually half-decent back then! What was wrong with the world?

Jade broke the silence with a merry grin, shrugging his shoulders. "Ah, the youth of today. So full of energy and love."

"I can't believe you," Tear said, holding a hand to her forehead as she shook her head. Sacha stared at him.

"Are you _blind_?"

"I was talking about our two lovebirds of course," Jade replied smoothly, standing up. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he looked around at the others.

"E-excuse me?" Tear half-demanded, half-choked as she furiously tried to hide the blush on her cheeks. "Me and-"

"My, my, Tear. I was referring to the two males who have gone out to do some 'sword practise'-" Jade's smirk widened into a full-grown grin as he continued. "-I'm sure that they'll be able to do _plenty _of that with the size of-"

Sacha firmly braced her hands over Ion's ears and turned him away from Jade. Tear's face grew pale as she listened to the colonel finish, while Sacha was unable to keep the look of horror off her face.

"_Colonel_!"

"I was only speaking the truth, my dear."

"Thank Yulia_ Anise_ isn't here..." Sacha muttered, removing her hands from Ion's ears. As soon as she had done so, the green-eyed boy blinked up to her with wide, sleepy eyes.

"Whatever did Jade say?"

"You don't want to know," Sacha said quickly before Jade could cut in. "Trust me, you_ don't_."

"But-"

"You don't."

"Sacha-"

"_You. Don't_," Sacha roared, leaning over the boy. Ion stared at her blankly, but slightly afraid at the raging expression on the Guardian's face. He sat back, nodding slowly.

"O-okay..."

"N-now that's out of the way," Tear stammered, looking clearly uncomfortable at having to spend any more time in Jade's company than necessary. "I-I think I will go and check on Guy and Luke."

"Be careful, my dear," Jade said, still grinning as Tear made for the exit. "You might just catch them in the climax of their so-called-"

"_Jade_!" Sacha thundered angrily, clamping both of her hands over Ion's ears again. "Shut up and go and do something _useful_!"

"The youth of today..." Jade shook his head with a deep sigh, clearly over the top. "They have no respect for the elderly."

"You are _not _old!"

"I'm certainly ancient, according to the age of the rest of you people." Standing up, the Malkuth colonel dossed out the fire with a small Splash arte. "And would someone please explain to me why we decided to use Fifth Fonons _inside _a small, cramped area?"

"Um..." Sacha blinked. She thought about the question as she watched the man begin to undress himself for the night. "So that we would stay warm?"

"And set fire to the tent, and promptly die?" Jade shrugged his shoulders and laid down in his sleeping bag. He took off his glasses and placed them beside him, sighing. "If that is the way you youngsters wish to go, than I shall not stop you."

"There's something wrong with you, I swear."

"Great minds truly do think alike."

"What is _that _supposed to-"

"Please don't fight," Ion asked shyly, already in his sleeping bag. He had his head lying on top of his clothes, the quilt pulled firmly over his chest.

"Yes Sacha. We all know that I'm opposed against violence."

"You-" She sighed deeply and sat down upon seeing the pleading look on Ion's face. Lying down next to the green-haired boy, she absentmindedly yawned, staring up to the roof of the tent. A lot had happened today. First of all, they had stumbled upon one of the God-Generals, _Cantabile_, while trying to leave Saint Binah, The most surprising thing, however, was that she didn't even attempt to fight them. Sure, she had threw in her usual insults and harsh words, but it was the first time that Sacha had ever seen the adult _shocked _about something. It made her feel uneasy.

Also, it was the first time that Sacha had been fighting with the group. It looked like it had been Ion's first time, too; Luke had clearly been surprised upon seeing the Fon Master wield his own weapon, more than able to be 'smacking a few monsters senseless'.

She giggled slightly at the thought of Ion bashing monster heads together, before pulling the blanket around her tighter and going to sleep.


	5. Chapter IV: Wild Encounter

**Disclaimer**: See chapter 1.

**A/N**: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! This one isn't quite as long, but it's only a rough draft. I'll be sure to add more to it when I get the time to.  
>For now, enjoy! Any constructive criticism is more than welcome, by the way! :)<p>

* * *

><p><em>ஜ۩۞۩ஜ -The Faithful Sentinel- ஜ۩۞۩ஜ<em>

_Chapter IV: Wild Encounters_

* * *

><p><em>Remday, 39 Rem Decan. AD2018<em>

_"In which Jade is mistaken for a girl, and we meet Gloomietta. Yay."_

* * *

><p>Sacha poked at the fire with her sword, frowned, and then poked at the wood some more. A small chuck of it tipped over in the fire, sending up a fresh blaze of smoke. The fire coughed some more, and then settled back down to flickering normally.<p>

"Jade," she begun, already knowing the answer. "Is _anyone_ else awake?"

"Not as far as I am aware," was Jade's blunt reply. He continued cleaning the dishes that he had stacked in front of him with his Splash arte repeatedly, and then dried them with a gentle Flame Burst arte. Sacha sighed as the area descended into silence once more.

She had woken up firstly, but why, she couldn't remember. She could dimly recall having a small nightmare... but she hadn't had them ever since she was seven or so. They were long gone... hopefully.

After wandering out to absent-mindedly start a fire, to keep her warm and to also keep an eye out for any monsters, Jade had woken up a few minutes later. He had found her just as she was about to smash the wood sticks into tiny pieces, he had ignited it for her with a small Flame Burst, smirking the whole time. And now here they were, cleaning dishes and poking fires.

_So_ exciting.

"We will have to move out soon," Jade said, his back turned to the woman nearby as he stood up. "Cantabile has already found us, and I would be surprised if she didn't tell the Oracle Knights about us."

"Yeah. Cantabile's observant. She would have told the others, and Largo at the very least. He's the commander of the diversion that were sent to Saint Binah."

"I must say," Jade dumped the dishes into their cooking bag that Anise had left behind. It clattered loudly, mixed in along with some berries and meat. "You make far better company than Luke, and we've only known you for a day."

Sacha smiled a little. Well, at least someone seemed to like her, somewhat. "I hope so. Besides, I'm only here to protect Ion and find Anise. If those two leave, then I'm following."

"Your absense will be dearly missed."

Sacha narrowed her eyes at the older man as he sat down near the fire. "...Was that sarcasm?"

Jade sighed. "Really, I'm so honest that it almost hurts, and all I'm awarded with is the confusion of youngsters."

"Uh... right, okay."

Having nothing else to say, Sacha turned back to the fire. She could see Jade's tall shadow falling over it as he polished the edge of his spear. It glinted in the fire threateningly, making Sacha feel slightly uneasy. To be honest, she wasn't comfortable with the group that Ion had decided to make friend with; a cold soldier, Jade the Necromancer, a spoiled bratty noble and servant of said noble. The person that she was probably most comfortable around, barring Ion, was Tear. She was... well, she was Van's sister, so she had to be good.

Jade, on the other hand... from what she could already tell, he was as deadly with fonic artes as all of the rumours had made him out to be, and apparently he had a fon slot seal on him. Yet, he could still use far more powerful fonic artes than her, and she had been training for over ten years!

That was _so_ annoying.

But the way he so casually talked about killing the monsters that they had come across, as well as teasing the others by claiming that he put poison into their meals that night (poor Luke's face had turned a very unpleasant green, while Tear silently held a hand over her mouth in shock. Guy had comically stopped eating half-way through while there was a large amount of cheese drooling down his chin, and Ion had simply continued on, insisting that Jade wouldn't have done anything like that). It was his serious tone that got her, every time.

Well, with the few times that he had used it so far, anyway. All with that merry smile on his face. _Honestly_!

"My favourite food is curry."

Okay, _what_?

"Excuse me?" Sacha asked in bewilderment. Jade merely continued to look at the flames crackling nearby.

"I shall repeat what I said earlier; my favourite food is curry, diced with Malkuthian rice and rappig meat."

"W-_what_?"

"Just so you know for any future cooking that you may do." He smirked and stood up. "Now, I shall go and awaken the others. I trust that I can leave Ion and Tear to you?"

What was wrong with him? Did he always go about skipping to different subjects whenever he felt like it?

"Uh..."

"I will take that as a yes."

"You-"

But Jade had already made his way into the small cave in which Luke and Guy were sleeping inside. Apparently, they had decided to leave the tent to Ion, Jade and herself after their sword training, since the three of them were already asleep inside it.

She went back to the fire and poked it again with a sigh. How long was she going to be stuck with this group of... of... she couldn't find any words to describe them. Really, you couldn't have made it up. She would leave waking up Ion and Tear to Jade; it wasn't like she was good at it. Last time, she had nearly received a broken nose.

"_JADE_!"

Sacha covered her ears as Luke darted out of the cave with wide eyes, Mieu bouncing along behind him with wide eyes. His long red hair was flying in the night sky like a shooting star as he turned back to face the entrance. His already-pale face drained of all colour.

"Oh-"

"_STOP TOUCHING ME!_" Came Guy's frantic _shriek_ from the darkness. He screamed again, soon followed by a loud bang noise. Sacha stood up in alarm.

"What is-"

_"GET OFF ME GET OFF ME GET-AHHH!"_

"Guy thinks Jade is a woman," was Luke's deadpan reply as he stared into the cave entrance. Mieu bounced up and down near him with wide eyes.

Ah, that explained it.

"M-Master?"

"Shut up, Thing!" Luke promptly kicked the poor cheagle in the stomach and sent it flying into the tent side. Guy screamed again.

"_STOP IT PLEASE!"_

"But I'm having so much _fun_~"

...

...

..._What_?

Both of the two people outside shivered at the same time. Sacha was the first to speak, following another scream. "Uh... shouldn't you really be going to help him?"

Just at that moment, Guy came charging out of the cave with the loudest scream Sacha had ever heard. She covered her eyes as he dropped down to the ground, panting furiously. Jade stalked out of the darkness with a creepy smirk on his face. Leaning down to touch Guy, he rested a hand on his shoulder from behind and-

"STOP IT FOR THE LOVE OF _YULIA_!"

"Just _what_ is going on?" Tear said angrily as she looked out of the tent entrance, her visible eye looking ready to kill someone. It landed on Guy, who was now pressed up against the rock side while shaking like a leaf in the rain. Jade, meanwhile, looked as if he was having the time of his life.

Sacha turned to face her with a shrug. "I couldn't tell you. Jade's being... Jade."

"E-excuse me?"

"Master and Guy thought that Jade was a girl!" Mieu helpfully explained, bouncing up to the brunette teenager. "Master wasn't happy!"

Tear looked as if she was trying to not collapse from an overload of cuteness.

Jade finally let up on his rentless assault whenever Tear and Ion came out from the tent, both fully dressed and looking ready to go. With a wave of his hand, the tent was set on fire. Tear and Sacha both shrieked in surprise; Tear had one of her knives out at the sudden action.

Luke turned to Jade with wide eyes of horror. "W-what..." he was struggling for words. "Why the hell did you set the tent on _fire_?"

Sacha's face paled. "The item bag's still in there."

Jade waved a hand dismissively. "Ah, details, details."

"_WHAT_?" Luke, Tear and Guy all shouted at the same time.

"I-I put a _Miracle Ge_l in the bag!" Sacha stuttered, as if that would have the man change his mind. She really should have known better.

"Then it will teach you the importance of not leaving your items unattended."

_"WHAT THE-"_

"-Besides, now we won't have to pack it up and waste valulable time." Jade's glasses shined eerily in the flames burning into the night sky, crackling loudly. "A genius plan, if I do say so myself."

No one answered him for a long time, mainly because they were all struggling to accept what had just happened. Sacha's eyes were wide, her mouth flopping uselessly like a goldfish. H-how the heck did he discard a Miracle Gel as nothing? She had to steal that from the shop in Daath in order to have decent gels, since all of the Melange Gels had been sold out, and he just set it on fire? He wasn't called the Necromancer for nothing, it seemed.  
>But still! That was-<p>

Finally, after what felt like forever, Luke voiced what they had all been thinking.

"WHAT THE HELL WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU WHY DID YOU DO THAT WHAT IF I HAD BEEN IN THERE ANSWER ME DAMN IT ANSWER-"

Jade happily ignored Luke's pounding fists as he began to walk off, the boy still bashing him furiously. "Let's be on our way, shall we?"

"I'M NOT DONE TALKING TO YOU!"

"The God-Generals may catch up to us if we linger for much longer, and the last thing we need is Ion kidnapped."

"YOU BAS-"

"_Luke_!"

* * *

><p>Thankfully, Jade at least had the decency to make sure that Ion and Tear had been out of the tent before setting it on fire. However, after their tenth or so battle in a just a few hours, without stumbling across any kind of memory circle, much less a healing one, they were all snappy due to the lack of gels and general exhaustion.<p>

Luke sat down on a random rock with a sigh, panting furiously. He wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand. "No... more..."

Even Tear agreed, abar silently, with the older teenager, sitting cross-legged on a patch of grass nearby. Ion quickly followed suit.

"Jade," Guy began. "I think we need to rest."

"We'll just ignore the fact that you seem to have no problems _whatsoever_," Sacha muttered dryly as she also sat down, her weapons out on her knees. Now that she had some time to inspect them, she noticed that the once-gleaming blade was now dull, and the handles had been chipped due to damage. She would have to either repair them, or hopefully buy a new pair when they eventually got to Kaitzur.

"My, my, the young of today so exhausted _already_?" Jade teased with a shrug of his shoulders. His hair was still as flawless as when Sacha had first met him, his clothing in perfect condition. He looked as if he had just woken up from a month-long sleep, only without the cluminess and sleepiness. "Kaitzur is only about half a day away from our current location. Surely you tortured souls can travel just a little bit further?"

"If you hadn't burnt our tent," Luke said with a twitching eye. "Then maybe, _just maybe_, we wouldn't be so damn tired!"

"Converse your energy, now."

"Shut up!"

"And the item bag." Guy ran a hand over his face with a yawn. "Man, it's a good thing that Mieu wasn't in it when you set fire to it."

Sacha was too busy mourning the loss of her Miracle Gel to say anything.

"A good thing?" Luke turned to his friend with his twitching eye. "Are you freaking _blind_?"

"You were going to give Mieu to Guy," Tear helpfully said. She ran her fingers through the ends of her hair with a sigh. "Not that I approved of that, of course."

"I-I don't care what you think!" Luke snapped.

"Good," Tear muttered. "Because I don't either."

"_Ouch_." Guy laughed. "You got _told_, Luke. She really has got you whipped."

Tear turned to the blond with a small smirk. "Want me to touch you again?"

"N-no thanks!"

Guy yelped when the brunette ignored his words and walked closer, her arms outstretched. Luke grabbed Tear's arm and pulled her back.

"Stop it," he said angrily. "Guy can't help it, so back off. Besides, I'm not staying here any longer than I have to!"

"Well, well." Jade chuckled. "It seems that our spoiled noble has a soft side after all."

"S-shut up!"

"Thanks, Luke," Guy said sincerely with a small smile.

"Yeah, yeah. Just be grateful that you've got me around."

Ion smiled. "See? Luke does have a kind side."

"Guess I own you a hundred Gald then," Sacha grumbled to herself, already fishing around in her pockets for some loose change. She and Ion had made a small bet in the inn room in Saint Binah that Luke didn't have a good side to him. However, he had clearly proved them wrong by sticking up for Guy.

She wasn't going to miss the hundred Gald or anything, but _damn_.

Handing over the money to the Fon Master, she cleared her throat. "I'm all for bonding time, but we need to hurry. If Cantabile saw us..." She closed her eyes, thinking. Who would Cantabile send after them? Someone quick and small... that would rule out Dist, Legretta and Largo. Asch hadn't been there, and Sync had mentioned something about heading to Grand Chokmah... "Then Glo-Arietta will be following us, most likely. She's fast. We need to get out of here and to Kaitzur."

No one seemed to notice her slip of words."Fine," Luke whined and stormed on ahead. "But if we come across one more turtle-"

"-_Tortoise_," Guy hastily corrected.

"-I don't _care_! If we see one more 'tortoise', then I'll hit it into next week with a Fang Blade!"

"You need to do something more powerful," Tear said. "Like a Guardian Field, or Raging Blast."

"Wha-_wait_." Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "How do _you_ know?"

"My brother is your teacher."

"Master Van..."

Guy slapped Luke on the back of his head. "C'mon Luke, let's get moving. I've known Master Van longer than you, so quit angsting and get moving."

"No you-"

"-I've known him before you got kidnapped."

Sacha's head changed between the two of them as they began to bicker, confused. Kidnapping? What were they talking about? Had one of them been kidnapped before? Was that why Luke was such a spoiled little brat all of the time? And was Van a master to the two of them, or something? She could somewhat understand that from Luke's point of view, but Guy..?

"Umm..."

"I'll explain it to you when we get to Kaitzur," Tear said with a small frown upon seeing the confused look on the Attendant's face. "I don't know too many details myself, but Luke isn't too willing to share, and Guy would run away if I went anyway near him."

"I guess... thanks."

They continued to walk on for a bit longer, the sun in the sky slowly beginning to raise over Fubras River. The sunlight glistened brightly in rainbows off the many puddles of water, and painted the land a deep red colour. They carefully avoided any monsters that they could (especially the zombies), only fighting them when they had no other choice. After a few hours, they finally came to the exit; a pile of rocks all spiraling high into the morning sky. There was a rotting sign nearby, which must have once been an exit sign for any travellers. However, now that the bridge had been built, people only came through the river either for the thrills, or because the bridge was down. The whole area smelt of overgrown grass and fresh river; a surprisingly pleasant smell. Well, it was nicer than Sacha had thought it would be.

Jade suddenly stopped walking, his arm outstretched to prevent Guy, who had been walking beside him, from going any further. The blond turned to the man, confused, and the others soon followed.

"Jade?" Ion asked gently. "Is something the matter?"

"Someone's here," he warned. "Stay quiet."

Tear took out her knives between her fingers, her icy eyes darting over the area. "They're behind us."

"Is it a God-General?" Mieu asked worriedly, his ears dropping down to the ground. "I don't want to fight them, Master..."

"Shut up, _Thing_!" Luke hissed. Tear hugged the cheagle up in her free arm, glaring at the boy from under her fringe. "Fine, whatever."

"Stay _quiet_!" Guy whispered, his fingers tightly gripped around the handle of his thin sword.

"They've seen us," Sacha added grimly. They were in a wide area, where anyone could be able to see them for miles. If someone, most likely the God-Generals, had spotted them, then there was no escaping.

Suddenly, a white bolt of thunder crackled from the air, aiming for Jade. The man nimbly leapt out of the way and landed on his feet, spear appearing in his hand in a flash of blinding light. The powerful bolt left a scorch mark in the grass.

"You killed Mommy!"

"Oh no," Sacha whispered. "It's Arietta!"

A giant blue bird as bright as blinding ice sweeped from above, aiming for Ion. The boy looked up in time to be roughly shoved to the ground by Sacha. She winced as the monster's sharp claws dug into her back, but she tried to shake it off. Tear would be able to heal it with a First Aid later.

But right now...

"I hate you!"

"I do get that a lot," Jade drawled as a small girl jumped down from the cliffside, her pink eyes screaming murder as she called the two monsters back. Her long dark pink hair blew in the gentle breeze around them, and she was hugging a white doll to her chest, which had long red and blue arms. Her black dress blew out behind her furiously, reflecting her anger. She glared at them all with blazing eyes.

"You killed Mommy, and all my brothers and sisters!" Arietta screamed. Her eyes fell on Sacha, and she growled. "And _you_! You and Anise took Fon Master Ion away from me!"

"Arietta, I-" Sacha shook her head. "-We didn't take Ion away from you, I promise! Ion is, no, was sick, and-"

"-I don't care!" the God-General shouted over the top of the brunette. "Everyone..." She looked down at the ground. "...Everyone takes my precious ones away from me. My home, my family... and now my Mommy and brothers and sisters. Mommy was only trying to protect them..."

"They would have destroyed Engeve!" Tear shouted. "I'm sorry, but many people have suffered far worse than you!"

"No they haven't! No one listens to me! Everyone just hates me! They... they never love me! Fon Master Ion did, and you took him away from me!"

Sacha clenched her fists. "No, I didn't! Just listen to me for a second; the reason-"

"-Shut up!" The teenager held up her doll, and already the markings of a Limited arte were forming underneath Sacha's feet. "Shut up and die!"

Sacha leapt out of the way, although some of the fonons managed to hit her arm. Hissing in pain, she held it in pain while glaring at Arietta. "That's why people hate you; you never take time to listen to them, you jerk!"

"Sacha!" Ion cried out in horror, grabbing her uninjured arm. "Please, Arietta doesn't-"

Sacha shoved him off, glaring at the girl while ignoring Ion's wide eyes as he stared at her in shock from the ground. "If you want a fight, I'll be more than happy to see it through!" She wasn't thinking straight; all that she could think of was how much she hated that brat, the little girl who whined over everything and-

"-Negative Gate!"

Tear pulled the seething brunette out of the path of the arte, watching as a dark circle ripped open right where she had been standing. Jade quickly casted a Splash arte and leapt back as the liger tried to claw at him.

"Hurry!" he called out, parrying a series of blows with his spear. He hid the wince on his face as a sharp fang stabbed his hand. "If we make it to Kaitzur, we should be safe!"

"It would help if Arietta would stop attacking us!" Guy shouted out as he attempted to attack the girl, only to be assaulted from mid-air by the giant bird. His head slammed against the rock gravel hard, but he quickly pushed himself back up onto his feet. "Please stop hitting me with fonic artes, my fonic defense is _awful_..."

Arietta either didn't hear him or just didn't care. Just as she lifted her doll up to cast another powerful arte, an earthquake suddenly shook the ground. All of them, barring Jade, fell to the ground in shock at the new factor. The earth cracked ominously, and suddenly a thick, purple smoke shot out from the ground right below Arietta. She screamed before falling to the ground, and didn't stir.

"Well, _that_ was a welcome factor," Jade commented dryly with a small smirk. He made his way over to the fallen God-General, his spear glinting in the sunlight darkly. Sacha's eyes widened in horror when she saw what he was about to do. Surely he wouldn't-

"_Stop_!"

Ion had made his way in front of the teenager, holding his arms out with a fierce look on his face. He looked at Jade with narrowed eyes; a rare sight. "_Please_ don't hurt her! She's done nothing wrong."

"She'll be a nuisance if she comes back after us. You know we should finish her while we have the chance."

"_No_!" Luke cried out. "At least wait until she can fight, would you?"

Ion nodded. "Please, can we just leave her here?"

"I'm more concerned about that sudden earthquake," Tear said. She had already began to walk on ahead. "If we get to Kaitzur, we should be safe."

"But what about Arietta?" Guy asked. "Shouldn't we at least move her, so that she isn't in the middle of the road?"

"After she tried to kill us!" Sacha exclaimed. "Are you _mental_? Besides, she can talk with monsters. She'll be fine."

"...Don't say I didn't warn you," Jade said with a sigh, but bent down to the younger girl. He took her in his arms with ease and settled her beside a tall rock nearby, that would help to hide her location from any monsters. It dipped down over her head.

"Hey, what's that fog?" Luke pointed at the thick purple substance that was oozing out of the ground in large bubbles.

"_Miasma_!" Tear cried out in horror, apparently only noticing it now. "We have no time!"

"What is miasma?" Guy asked, also feeling the thick fog beginning to wrap around him and try to coax him into sleep.

"It's deadly poison! We need to leave, now!"

"But we can't just leave Arietta here!" Ion said with wide eyes. He glanced back at the unconscious girl. "What if she-"

"-You heard Tear," Sacha began coldly, grabbing the younger boy's arm. She was just as worried as he was, but they needed to get out of here! "Arietta will be fine, I promise! Right now, we need to hurry!"

"But-"

"-_Hurry_!" Jade shouted in a rare moment of panic.

"O-okay."


	6. Chapter V: Secrets Better Left Secret

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1.

**A/N: **Again, thank you to _cocoamilo _and _DAve and Bob _for reviewing! I think this is the longest chapter I've ever wrote for anything. XD

**How Artes Work: **This is just a quick explantation of things that may confuse you in this chapter. You know the way that every arte has a TP cost, and every character has a TP gauge? Well, in this universe, all of the characters know all of their _story_-related artes already (for example, Guy knows Sword Rain: Alpha and Final Cross, but not Soaring Light Spear or Tempest). However, if they use artes that reduce their TP gauge low enough, or to zero, they become exhausted. Basically, the artes all require fonons to use, and since the body is made up of fonons... when the TP gauge hits zero, the artes will start to take the fonons away from the user, hence why the user will get a headache and so forth. It's the body's way of telling the user to stop using artes, since if they continue, their bodies will vanish. Orange Gels restore fonons, in this universe.

Hope that helps to clear things up! Any other questions? Let me know! :)

* * *

><p>ஜ۩۞۩ஜ -The Faithful Sentinel- ஜ۩۞۩ஜ<p>

_Chapter V: Secrets Better Left Secret_

* * *

><p><em>Remday, 39 Rem Decan. AD2018<em>

"_In which we discover Tear's hymns, the Commandant, and a poach."_

* * *

><p>"May we stop here?"<p>

"_What?_" Luke demanded loudly upon Jade's request. He had made them all stop in a small clearing just outside of Kaitzur; Sacha could easily make out its outline blackening the setting sun in the sky. "We've been travelling for three days _straight_, we're almost there, and you want us to _stop_?"

"I don't want enemy forces to overhear us," Jade said, looking at Tear. Her eyes widened in surprise at his intense gaze. "Tear, may I ask something?"

"Yes?"

"It's about her fonic hymns, isn't it?" Guy cut in, looking at Jade and then to Tear. He leaned on the small tree nearby, his arms crossed as he looked at the two.

Jade looked mildly impressed. "Correct. I was observing you using the Nightmare arte against that liger we encountered earlier. Fonic hymns are meant to be weaker than fonic artes, yet Nightmare was just as effective as an Energy Blast."

"The hymns that Tear uses are Yulia's. Nightmare is the first line of the Grand Fonic Hymn," Sacha said thoughtfully. Now that Jade had brought it up, she could have slapped herself for not noticing it earlier. "There are seven altogether, although..."

"...Only those descended from Yulia can use her fonic hymns," Ion finished. He, too, looked surprised at Tear.

"_Whoa_! So does that mean that Master Van's descended from Yulia?" Luke was smiling widely, a geninue smile which caught Sacha off-guard. "Master Van's so _cool!_"

"It's a good thing he isn't a woman," Sacha muttered under her breath at Luke's adoration of the Commandant. However, Luke was so wrapped up in his own dotting thoughts that he failed to notice her speak.

"I'm surprised that Tear can use them, to be honest." Guy's eyes widened at Tear's glare. "Hey, I'm not offending you! Anyway, the fonic hymns can only be used when someone understands both its meaning and lyrics. And what Sacha said is correct; only descendants of Yulia can use them. That means that both Tear and Master Van can use them."

"I know the symbolism of them all bar the Third and Fifth one." Tear sighed. "I can't find the manuals for those two, so I don't know the lyrics."

"They're Holy Song and- never mind." Guy bit his lip and looked down, but not soon enough. Tear, Luke and Sacha all cast suspicious looks at him.

"You know..." Sacha began slowly. "For a mere 'servant', you sure know a lot about the fonic hymns. Heck, _I _don't know this stuff, and I've been in the Order of Lorelei for as long as I can remember."

"Yeah. Just _what _exactly did Pere teach you?" Luke demanded. Tear looked at him curiously.

"Who?"

"His grandfather. He works as a gardener, basically spends all day digging in the mud and picking flowers for Mother."

"Luke..." Tear began, but she only sighed. Casting a quick glance at the quiet Guy, she walked on ahead. "...Never mind."

"Well, then, let's be moving to Kaitzur. We need to meet up with Anise and receive the peace letter." Jade began to walk on ahead with his cheery grin. "After that _wonderful_ meal that I cooked today, some of you may be needing the toilet, after all.

Tear's face paled. "W-what..?"

"There was rappig meat in it."

Sacha and Tear promptly ran over to the thick bushes nearby, with the males of the group watching them curiously. After they were done, Sacha peeked out, her face deathly pale.

"D-damn it! You _know _I hate eating rappigs!"

"Oh, did I mention that the stew was coated with rappig sauce?"

Sacha went back into the bushes again. "You _bastard_!" she shrieked when she was finished throwing up the contents of her stomach.

Ion blinked, looking as if he had just come to a great understanding. "So _that's _where Anise learnt all of her foul language from!"

"I-Ion!"

* * *

><p>They finally got into Kaitzur with little trouble, save for a small group of blue, wolf-like monsters that had tried to attack their empty item bag. Sacha stretched her arms as soon as they got in with a loud yawn. "Man, let's go to the inn and get some rest after we find Anise. I feel <em>dead<em>."

Tear nodded. "I'm exhausted as well. Training was never this gruelling."

"Mieu!" Mieu popped up from Luke's shoulder, his paw raised high in the air. "Master, can we _please _go to the inn? Auntie Tear is tired!"

Tear blushed. "A-auntie..?"

"_No!_" Luke roared angrily, knocking the blue cheagle off his shoulder with a swipe of his hand. He landed on the ground with a whimper.

"Mieu..."

"Shut up, _Thing_!"

Jade smiled his sinister smile and stopped ahead of the group. "Aha, it appears to be that we've found our missing Fon Master Guard."

"Anise?" Luke asked as he stopped just outside the inn entrance.

"But _please!_" a familar voice pleaded loudly. Sacha stopped walking as soon as she had heard it, her eyes wide as she took in the small figure up ahead, her black hair messy and wild. It couldn't be- _Anise_?

"No can do, even if you are a Fon Master Guard," the man replied, looking down at her. "You need a passport."

"You'd better watch your back, you stupid bastard," Anise muttered darkly to herself as she turned around and put her hands on her hips. "Now, I just have to wait for-" She suddenly looked up, her eyes wide. "Hey, wait a second! Sacha?"

"Anise!"

"Sacha!"

"Anise!"

"_Sacha_!"

The two Fon Master Guardians squealed and hugged each other tightly, Anise reaching up to the older woman as Sacha bent down to her friend. She had just _known _that Anise would have been fine, despite what the others had said; Anise was, after all, Anise. She would always pull through anything and everything. And here she was, alive and well, making death threats to random strangers.

"_Completely _over the top," Luke dead-panned. Guy ruffled his hair warmly with a laugh, and got a glare in return.

The warm feeling that had been bubbling up inside her heart now clearly shown on her face as the two broke away. Sacha ruffled the top of Anise's hair warmily. "I've been so worried about you! Not even bothering to send me a quick letter, huh?"

"I've been busy!" Anise grinned that adorable grin of hers. "I even put _you _ahead of my future husband and Ion! You'd better be grateful!"

"Future-" Sacha grinned the same grin that Anise was. "Oh, you mean _Luke_?"

"But of _course_~"

"Aha, your hair's a mess. We _have _to comb it out tonight; you're not going to be getting rich geezers like that, and-" Sacha frowned as she only just noticed the various scratches and cuts decorating Anise's uniform. "-What the hell happened to you?"

"'I fell from the Tartarus' happened," Anise said sarcastically, her fingers moving to make air quotes. "But I'm all better now! Oracle Knight Ionian Sergeant Fon Master Guard Anise Tatlin is back in business, baby!"

Sacha laughed again. "That title _is _way too long!"

Anise stuck out her tongue playfully. "_Boooo._ Not as long as yours, 'Head' Fon Master Guard. I'm basically your God-General, and you're the Commandant."

"_Don't _remind me!"

"Uh, guys-" Luke cut in rudely. "Look, I _love _this and all, but we need to get to Baticul!"

"Oh _Luke_!" Anise ran past Ion and trapped Luke into a bone-crushing hug. Sacha laughed, knowing that that was just one of her friend's little quirks, as well as... well, _that_. She casted away the dark thought and smiled. "I've missed you _sooo _much, my Prince Charming~"

Guy shuddered, his hands in his belt as he took a few steps back. "_This _is why women scare me."

"Oh, come on," Tear said with a sigh from just behind the man. "It's not _that _bad."

"_GAHHH!_"

Anise gazed up in time to see the blond tumble to the ground in his desperation to get away from Tear. She loosened her grip on Luke, but only slightly. "_Huh?_"

"Okay." Tear blinked. "It is."

"_Guyyyy_," Luke whined as he shoved off Anise. "Stop acting like an idiot! We need to find Master Van!"

Guy rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "J-jeez, no help for your best friend, huh?"

The young noble rolled his eyes. "I'll help you once we find Master Van!"

"You won't be able to find Master Van once you're _dead_!"

A dark shadow suddenly leapt up from the top of the building nearby. His long, dark-red robes looked like blood in the dim sky, a tall sword in his hand glinting onimously. Hair flowed out behind him as he began to descend on the small group. Everyone looked up in surprise.

"Prepare to _die_!"

Anise shrieked and grabbed onto Luke's arm tightly, too caught up in the moment to properly react. Jade immediately summoned his spear; Tear did the same with her weapon and followed the older man as he launched forward to fight off the new threat. Guy already had his weapon drawn, his earlier incident forgotten as he rushed to Luke. Sacha, meanwhile, had a wide-eyed Ion behind her, in a battle stance as she took out her daggers (she still wasn't sure on what to call them. Daggers? Butterfly swords? Large knives?) and threw one of them at the threat. It missed completely, and she cursed.

"_Damn _it! I only have one dagger left!"

Luke fell to the ground, the sword that he had been drawing to his hand clattering away, out of reach. Anise stood protectively in front of her, her small staff gripped tightly in her shaking hands.

"You leave Luke _alone_! Negative Gate!"

The mysterious figure dodged the arte with ease, leaving it to howl uselessly in a small circle. Anise gasped in horror as the man's sharp sword easily sliced through her staff. It broke in half and fell to the ground, already fading away into tiny dancing fonons.

"Little girls should stick with playing with _little _toys," the swordsman hissed, his green eyes glistening venomly at Anise. "Go run back home."

"You _bastard!_" Anise shrieked. "I'll _kill _you! That was from Mama and Papa!"

"Heh." He snorted. "They don't exactly sound rich, do they?"

Oh no. If there was one thing _no one, _not even Sacha, got away with, it was insulting Anise's family. _Especially _their lack of Gald.

He was so screwed.

Anise's hands clenched into tiny, shaking fists. "Would. You. Care. To. Repeat. That."

Jade took adventage of the man being distracted to release an arte. "_Splash!_"

Tear quickly followed up with one of her own. "Nightmare!"

A Malkuth soldier from nearby had decided to help out. "_Ground Dasher!"_

The man dodged out of the way of all three of the attacks with grace. Leaping high into the air, he landed nimbly and rushed past a raging Anise straight at Luke, who was still staring in shock at the scene in front of him from the ground.

However, Guy was already in front of him. Their blades collided and made a high-pitched wail in the air. The two of them pushed furiously against each other, neither one wanting to lose.

"It's nice of you to remember me, _Guy_," the man hissed angrily. He glared at the blond in front of him. "_Especially _after everything that happened."

"What are you _talking _about?" he snapped back, irriated. "I've never met you before, _Asch the Bloody_."

"But you _have_. In fact, we've more than met, we've-"

"-Luke! _Guy!"_

Before Sacha could make heads or tails of the situation, the Commandant had shoved Guy out of the way and taken on Asch for himself. "Asch!" he shouted out as he easily overpowered the God-General. "What are you _doing_? I thought I ordered the God-Generals to remind at Daath!"

Asch smirked. "It's too bad that Cantabile just _hates _to be sitting around, doing nothing, isn't it?"

"So _she _ordered you to do this? She doesn't have the power! Only myself, the Fon Master, or Mohs can order you! _Stand down_!"

"Tch." In a moment of sudden submission, he pushed back from Van as the latter lowered his weapon. Sliding it back into its stealth, he stole a glance at them all. He stared at Luke for a few seconds before looking away. "I'll be seeing you around, _dreck_."

"_Wait_!" a Malkuth soldier cried out as the God-General leapt high onto the top of the white gate and began to run. "Travelling from Malkuth to Kimlasca is illegal without a passport-"

But his words were lost to the wind.

Sacha gasped in surprise as Van suddenly walked over to her, something shining in his closed hand. He dropped it onto her open palm. "Your dagger, I presume?"

"Y-yes," she muttered quietly upon seeing her beloved weapon safe and sound. How did he manage to find it so quickly? Ah, never mind. Clenching it in her fist tightly, she looked up to him with a smile. "Thank you, Commandant."

The man studied her for a few seconds longer, his deep eyes scanning over her. She felt herself gulp in nerves; she never did like people staring at her for too long, even if it was only a few seconds.

"You're welcome." The Commandant quickly turned around to Luke. "Luke, that was, to be honest, patheic. If it hadn't been for the Fon Master Guard and Guy, you would most likely be dead. Sitting on the floor squealing like a little child won't defeat the enemy, unless they are weak to high-pitched noises."

Sacha couldn't keep in her small laugh at the Commandant's words, although she quickly changed it to a short cough when Ion and Tear both looked at her.

Luke beamed as he looked at the older man, completely ignoring his harsh words. "Master Van! I'm so glad you're okay!"

Van glared at him from the corner of his eye, before turning to Guy. "And Guy. Bluntly, you should have reacted quicker. Has all of our training been for naught?"

Guy laughed nervously. "Heh heh. Sorry, Master Van. I'll try to improve for next time."

A dark look flashed over Van's face for a second, but it was gone as soon as it had come. Sacha didn't have any time to ponder on it before, much to everyone's surprise, Van ruffled Guy's hair gently. "Don't worry about it. And how many times must I tell you to _not_ call me Master?"

"Y-yeah." Guy looked surprised. "G-got it. Sorry Mast- I mean, Van."

Van's hand lingered for a second longer before he slowly lifted it with a smile. He rested his eyes on Tear. The smile soon vanished into a scowl as he gazed at his younger sister. "Mystearica. I trust that you have been looking after Luke ever since the 'kidnapping'?"

Tear's eyes widened, although they quickly went back to normal. "Kidnapping?"

"Everyone at the Fabre Manor is worried sick over Luke."

Tear looked down. "I'm sorry..."

"You'd better be."

Tear looked up with a heavy glare in her cold eyes. Sacha took a step back at how intense it was. How was it possible for a brother and sister to hate each other so much? They were of the same blood! What could have happened, to make the two of them hate each other so much?

"I have passports for you all. Duke Fabre entrusted them to me."

Anise clapped her hands together happily. "Oh, goodie! I had _no _idea on what to do with-"

"-But I want to talk to you all, at the inn."

Tear somehow narrowed her eyes more, reducing them to tiny slits of blue. "And if we refuse?"

"Than you shall not receive passports. You still wish to oppose me, sister?"

Jade shrugged with a heavy sigh, drawing everyone's attention to him. "Well, why not? Let's take tonight and tomorrow to prepare ourselves. The monsters on Kimlasca's side of the border _are _stronger than the ones at Malkuth, after all."

"We've also ran into, what, _three _God-Generals now?" Sacha said with a heavy sigh. "I don't know how they're finding us-" Okay, that was a lie. She knew fully well. "-But we need to take a break from them."

"Yeah." Guy nodded cheerfully. "I don't think even the _God-Generals _will attempt to attack us here. There's a lot of people here. They wouldn't dare."

"Besides, we've got my brother with us." Tear chanced a hateful look at the man. "They won't attack as long as _he _is around."

"Very well then." Van smiled warmly, like a father would to his children. "Tomorrow night, I will explain everything that I know. For now, relax. I've heard that Kaitzur has a shopping centre for-"

"-_A SHOPPING CENTRE!_" Anise shrieked happily. "_SACHA, LUKE WE ARE GOING THERE!_"

"-For old people," Van finished with a small smirk, looking at Anise. Her face immediately fell in despair.

"_NOT FAIR!"_

"That means that Jade can go to it with no problem," Guy joked.

Jade summoned his spear and casually held it up besides Guy's neck in the space of a few seconds. He pushed the glasses on his nose up. "Did you say something, Guy?"

"N-no! But why do I always get the bad end of the stick..?"

Luke snickered. "You got the _very _bad end, Guy."

"S-shut up."

* * *

><p>"Let's see..." Anise muttered thoughtfully to herself as she stood outside the weapon store in the side streets of Kaitzur. She was shopping with Sacha to stock up on gels and armour, although the elder Attendant had gone into the armour store, after Luke complained (not much of a surprise from her future husband) about his armband breaking during their adventures in Fubras River. According to Jade, it wasn't the first time. "Hey, Sacha!" she called loudly into the armour shop. "You nearly done there, or what? And where's the others?"<p>

Sacha popped her head out of the doorway, her arms overflowing with various pieces and bits of silver armour. "I'm trying to pay the man now. As for the others... I know that Luke and Guy are training outside Kaitzur, Jade and Tear are discussing army stuff, and Ion's sleeping."

"Is anyone keeping an eye on Ion?" And why the heck was she buying so much armour?

"Yep. Jade and Tear are at the inn. Now hurry up and buy some Apple Gels!"

Anise picked up a small handful of them, about six or seven, and dropped down some Gald onto the counter. "Is seven enough?"

"We need as many as we can get!" Sacha called out, trying to not fall over from all of the weight in her arms. "Luke tends to spam them for his life. He's accident-prone."

"Just because you're a rich girl..." Anise grumbled darkly to herself, but she picked up some more gels and dumped a random amount of Gald down. "Hey, don't you need to buy weapons for everyone?"

"Everyone will have to buy their own-_ah_!" Sacha shrieked as she toppled over onto the ground comically, the armour scattering everywhere in her wake. "Gah..." She rubbed at a sore spot on her head. "Help?"

With a loud, over the top sigh, Anise stuffed the gels into her poach and buttoned it up. She made her way over to Sacha and pulled her up from the ground. The shop-keeper had his fingers patiently tapping on the counter, waiting for the two Oracle Knights to finish up and pay.

"T-thanks." Anise helped to pick up several pieces, but they were stopped when the shop-keeper slammed his fist down onto the table.

"Just pay me the amount and go! Although how you even _have _enough Gald is beyond me..." He stroked his black bread thoughtfully, thick eyebrows covering his eyes as he sighed.

"How much is it?" Anise asked curiously.

"Eh..." He did a quick look-over of everything they had. "Ten thousand, three hundred and ninty-nine Gald. Betcha can't-"

"-Here." Sacha slammed down the Gald onto the counter. "And keep the change. Thank you for serving us today, _sir_."

Anise couldn't help but think that the last sentence was sarcastic, given that he had spent his whole time smoking behind the counter and trying to hit on Sacha, from what she had seen from outside the window.

Meanwhile, the man looked as if Christmas had come early. "W-what! But that's- that's _twenty thousand Gald_!"

"As I said-" Sacha waved a hand dismissively as she picked up the rest of the armour. "-Keep the change."

"No, no!" He actually _leapt _over the counter and landed with a heavy thump next to them. Both of the girls jumped back in surprise. "I _must _give you something else!"

"Um..." Anise began as the man furiously pulled things out of his pockets; Gald, fontech, wrappers; was that a _candy bar?_

"Here!" He shoved something into Anise's hands, given that hers weren't completely full. It was a small, tiny little poach, brown and tatty, and it looked as if it had been around for many years. Despite its shabby appearance, Anise could feel the First and Sixth Fonons emitting from it like flames from a candle.

"Whoa... what is it?"

"I'm not sure _what _you would call it, exactly," he said gruffily, his voice deep as he smiled warmly at the two. "But it's a never-ending poach! You put all sorts of things, little bits and bobs, into it, and it never fills up!"

Anise's eyes sparkled. "_Never_!" Man, could she put _Luke _into it... and he would _fit _in? That was so cool!

Even Sacha looked impressed. "So that means that Mieu could go into the item bag... and then we could use this bag for all of our gels! That's _genius!_"

"But they're really rare," Anise added depressively. "And we all know that rare means expensive."

"Unless it's over ten million Gald, I can offend it," Sacha said in a dead-pan tone of voice.

"Ah, don't worry about that!" The man winked at them from underneath his hairy eyebrows. "Since the two of you are such lovely gals, I'll give it to you for free!"

"_Free!_" Anise shrieked happily, clutching the poach tightly to her chest. "Thank you so so so so so so so so _much!_" Now she could go and boast to the others about how her amazing good looks had gotten them an awesome poach that never filled up, and then-

"-Um, hate to burst the great mood," Sacha began slowly. "But if it's never-ending, how are you meant to get stuff back out?"

Anise promptly fell into a large depression. "Aww, yeah... that's true." That meant that her beloved Luke would never be able to get back out again.

...Actually, she thought to herself with a smirk, she could stuff Luke in there, and then get all of his money for herself! Aha! It was _genius_!

"-Anise, stop thinking about rich boys and pay attention."

"I was _not!_" She stuck out her tongue, but paid attention to the man anyway.

"...As I was saying, you just have to imagine the item in your mind, or shout it _really _loudly. Say-" He grabbed a bunch of random items from the counter and threw them into the tiny bag. Anise's mouth fell open when the bag didn't even lurch, or show any signs at all that it had been filled, or should be overflowing. So it really _did _work! "-I'll show you an example now. _CANDY!_"

The man reached into the bag, and pulled out a small, red candy that was falling apart at the seams. He ripped off the packaging and casually threw it behind him, before throwing all of the candy into his mouth in one go.

"Litter bug," Anise whispered. If he did that with all of his food, then it was no wonder that his store was so empty.

"Ya sesh?" He was struggling to talk while eating at the same time, so he just swallowed the food and emptied out the poach onto the counter. "If it isn't amazing, than my name isn't Calum!"

Sacha blinked. "...Your name is Calum?"

"Aye!"

"You are _such _a dope sometimes..." Anise looked at her friend from the corner of her eye. She took back the poach from the man with a smile. "Thanks so much! This is going to be really useful!"

Sacha smiled as the two turned to leave the shop. "Yes. The next time we come to Kaitzur, we'll be sure to say hello to you."

"See you later, lassies!" he shouted to them, and Anise barely caught the end of his sentence. "If only if the squirt was a bit older..."

"For _you_~" Anise said in a sweet tone as she handed the poach to Sacha, swinging her arms about.

"Anise... do I _look _as if I have enough hands to carry this all?"

"Oh, I don't know..." Anise pouted in mock thought. "Maybe all of the fonons you use might make you grow extra arms? It _has _happened."

Sacha's face paled. "...Anise, that was not funny. At all."

"I wonder if Jade has fonon contamination..."

"Anise." Sacha looked quite sick now. "Please, stop."

"Hmm... would his skin be all weirdly coloured, or-"

"_ANISE!_"

She yelped in surprise at her friend's rare angry tone. "S-sorry!"

However, as soon as they had walked out of the store, a figure clad in black ran straight into Sacha. She gasped in horror as she was knocked back to the ground. The figure, who looked to be a woman around her age, quickly bent down before running into the alleyway.

"Get back here, you bastard!" Anise stomped her foot angrily. What kind of _freak _ran into people for no reason?

"Oh, no!" Sacha shouted in horror. "She took the poach!"

So _that _was the reason.

"_WHAT!"_

"Stay here, Anise." Sacha already had picked herself back up again and was running in the direction that the thief had fled in. "I'm faster than you, so just get Tokunaga out and protect the armour!"

"But-"

Her words were lost as Sacha turned the corner and left her alone just outside the store. Frowning, Anise quietly activated Tokunaga and sat down beside him, draping his large paw over her shoulder. She knew that she probably looked like a homeless child at the moment, if it wasn't for the amount of armour lying behind her.

After a few minutes of silence, she heard two pairs of footsteps around the corner. Glancing up, she saw Luke and Guy running towards her. Why were they here?

She stood up just as the two of them stopped in front of her. "Anise?" Luke asked in surprise. "What are you doing here? And why the hell is there so much armour behind you? Where's Sacha?"

"Whoa, _whoa!_" She threw her hands up into the air, a movement which made Guy take a step back. She quickly glanced at him. "Oh, get over that stupid phobia already." She turned back to Luke. "_Luke~ _You see, me and Sacha went shopping for some armour, mainly for _you_. Since she's spoilt rich, we brought a lot. We-" She cut herself off by biting her lip. The two swordsmen looked curiously at her. She couldn't tell them about the poach, especially if Sacha failed to get it back. Luke would be whining for days. "-Uh, a thief came along and stole some of it, and Sacha _hates _people who steal, so she chased after her."

"Her?" Luke asked with interest. "The thief was a _girl_? What did she look like?"

Guy still looked curious, but nodded in thought. "Hmm... sounds like the Dark Wings, to me. Although they're meant to be in Chesedonia; they were the people who blew up the bridge in the first place. How did they manage to get all the way here?"

Anise gave them her infamous Dead Pan Expression. "Ugh, you guys are _so _sexist. Not all thiefs are sexy, daring, cunning males who are gentlemen at heart. Anywho, I have to wait here and guard the armour."

"Want us to wait with you, Anise?" Guy asked, putting a hand on his hip. Anise grinned with a nod.

"Please! Although..."

"_What_?" Luke snapped impatiently.

"How come you two are here in the first place?"

Luke blushed and rubbed his ear. "Uh, n-no reason at-"

"-Luke's sword broke while we were training."

Anise grinned. "Oh, naughty Luke!"

"H-hey, shut up!"

Anise was about to say something more, but then she spotted the thief from earlier running towards them. She had thrown down her black hood, revealing short, hot-pink hair that flew out behind her as she ran. The poach was hanging out of her pocket. Sacha was right behind her, her weapons in her hands as she chased after the woman.

Luke blinked. "That doesn't look like armour to me..."

Time for an arte.

Anise closed her eyes and began to chant to herself. "O'giant hammer... Miracle Hammer!"

She aimed the huge arte just in front of her. A golden, large hammer larger than all three of them combined twinkled in the setting sun, before twirling and slamming down on top of the thief. Anise fell to the ground while panting, exhausted from the arte. The thief also fell down onto her back. As she tried to pick herself up, Sacha stood over the top of her and trapped her between her knees. She held the weapon against the woman's throat.

"Return that poach, and I'll let you go."

"Tch," the woman said with a snort. "And what if you're lying?"

Sacha pushed the weapon closer. "Then I'll kill you and take the poach back. I've done it before. I'll do it again."

The thief rolled her dark pink eyes, but lifted up the poach. Sacha snatched it from her hand and tucked it back into her pocket. "You look like a boy."

Uh-no.

"_I AM NOT A BOY FOR THE FINAL TIME!_"

Sacha stood up with a huff, her eye twitching as the woman got up as well. The thief rested a hand on Sacha's cheek, who immediately slapped it away. "Oh, you're a feisty one, honey. I'll be keeping my eye out for you."

"_Leave_."

"Chill, boy." Her eyes widened. "Huh. You're the Head Fon Master Guard, aren't you? Sacha Eclinn? You're pretty famous. Not exactly in the good way."

"Shut. Up."

"But is it true?" she began curiously. "All of those rumours, about your fonon-"

"_SHUT UP!_" Sacha slapped her across the face, her eyes blazing.

She smirked, not at all affected by the sore red mark that was beginning to form on her cheek. "Then it's true. See you around, honey."

With that, she took off running into a dark alleyway. Sacha clenched her fists tightly as Anise picked herself up from the ground, not as exhausted as she had been before. She knew that using a too-powerful fonic arte would be bad. Her head was pounding from the stress that the arte had taken on her.

But what the heck was wrong with Sacha? She had never seen her get so angry before; geninuely looking as if she would have been happy to kill that thief just for mentioning that fonon thing. And _slapping _her. What was it, anyway, that fonon thing? She was her best friend, and _she _had never heard anything about a fonon thing!

Both Luke and Guy looked just as surprised as Anise was. Sacha let out a heavy sigh, all of the energy suddenly drained out of her as her shoulders slumped.

"Well..." she began weakly. "At least we got the poach back, huh?"

"_What _poach?" Luke and Guy both asked at the same time.

"...Nothing. Go and help Anise pick up the armour. I've... I've got somewhere to be."

She took off into the inn nearby and slammed the door shut before any of them could speak. After a few minutes, Luke turned to Anise.

"Is she normally that angry?"

"N-no..." Anise shook her head. "I've _never _seen her get so angry before, apart from the time that she found Alyssa and the others bullying me, but-"

"-Alyssa?" Luke asked.

"-_Bullying_?" Guy's eyes were wide.

"...It's a long story." Anise sighed. "Nothing you guys need to know. Anyway; I'm going to see Sacha." She pointed up to a small building that was beside the armour shop. "That's the weapon shop. Knock yourself out." She bent down to pick up some armour. "But come with me and return the armour back to our rooms, would you? I'm sharing with Sacha, so... go and dump them in Ion's room. It's next to ours."

Nodding, Guy bent down and easily picked up most of the armour. "Whoa. You guys sure got a lot. We're going to have to sell half of this stuff, you know?"

"Yeah. I was thinking that we could try them all on today or tomorrow, and then return them before we have to talk to the Commandant."

"Master Van..." Luke muttered dreamily to himself. He was jolted out of his daze whenever Guy dumped some armour into his arms. "W-what?"

"I'm not _that _strong," Guy said with a wink as he picked up the rest of the armour. "I'm stronger than you, yeah, and taller-"

Luke's eye twitched.

"-_way_ taller, but you still need to help out, lazy bones." He finished, smirking slightly as he began to walk towards the inn.

"But-"

"-I'll pay for your new sword!"

"All right!" then he grumbled underneath his breath, "I used to be taller than you, damn it.."

Anise followed the two of them inside with a sigh. Things were... getting difficult, and something told her that the meeting with the Commandant would only stir up more uncertainities.


End file.
